Catarina Dias was born in Lisbon in 1989. She completed her PhD in Organic Chemistry from Universidade de Lisboa in 2018, after being granted a PhD Studentship in Industry, co-sponsored by Cipan,SA. Her thesis focused on the synthesis of new carbohydrate-based molecules with therapeutic potential against infectious and neurodegenerative diseases, recognized by FCiências.ID excellence award and SPQ award. During her PhD, she had the chance to strongly develop her passion on Medicinal Chemistry through an industrial placement in Eli Lilly R&D facilities in the UK, and later, on the 12th Swiss Course on Medicinal Chemistry in Leysin.
During her academic years, she authored 10 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 5 book chapters. Catarina has always been fascinated with research and innovation in organic chemistry within the industrial context. She is currently part of the R&D department of CIPAN, where she works alongside a team that continuously seeks to improve current synthetic processes of tetracycline antibiotics, as well as developing and optimizing technology for new products.