UC Women in Science: Ana Ledo
Ana Ledo, researcher at the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra and professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy is the November guest of 'UC Women in Science'.
Ana Ledo studied biochemistry in the 1990s, when the field was 'blooming'. The "lack of knowledge" about biochemistry intrigued her even more. Combined with her childhood interest in research, it quickly became clear that this would be the path she would follow. She is currently a professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Coimbra (FFUC) and a researcher at the UC Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC-UC).
"I used to read National Geographic a lot," she recalls, "and the world of searching for answers to questions fascinated me." Today, she does just that, focusing on the central nervous system, particularly molecules that directly or indirectly influence the development of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. Each piece of research is aimed at "the idea that there will come a time when we can produce tools for use in humans."
She recalls how, early in her career, she and a colleague devised a plan "to rule the world as women". Although she has never felt discriminated against, she acknowledges that "many women find it difficult to access something as simple as basic education". And when it comes to balancing research and family life, "there's a certain lack of understanding from the family as to why we're going to the lab on Saturdays," she explains. The idea was just a joke, but there was always a serious side to it, together with a strong desire to ease women's difficulties.
Ana Ledo obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Coimbra in 2007 and is now an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy (Laboratory of Biochemistry and Biology) and a researcher at the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra.
Her early research focused on the study of nitric oxide, a small free radical that plays a fundamental role in brain signalling. Focusing on a structure in the central nervous system that is critical for memory and learning processes - the hippocampus - her goal was to characterise how nitric oxide is produced there and what role it plays in the regulation of energy metabolism.
Throughout her scientific career, she has also investigated how the nitric oxide-dependent pathway is compromised during ageing and in neurodegenerative processes such as Alzheimer's disease. More recently, she has shifted her focus to studying how different cells in nervous tissue (glia and neurons) work together to produce energy - a process known as neurometabolic coupling - with a special focus on the deregulation observed in conditions such as epileptic seizures. This work involves the development of new tools to monitor molecules of interest in nervous tissue, in particular electrochemical biosensors.