A World-Class Team

Carlos has an Executive MBA from AESE Business School, a postgraduate degree in Information Systems, and a degree in Management and Public Administration from the University of Lisbon.

Since 2016 he assumed the Head of New Product Development role at INCM (Portuguese Mint and Official Printing Office), one of AlmaScience’s main associates, focusing on security printing, digital security solutions, and global product portfolio management.

With the launch of AlmaScience, he assumed the role of CEO, focusing on the setup of this ambitious institution and on guaranteeing the onboarding of new industrial profile associates with relevant R&D challenges in line with Almascience’s R&D program and business development roadmap.

Previously, Carlos accumulated more than 10 years of experience in IT management and IT governance in the public sector, namely in implementing and disseminating IT shared services, which he helped transform into a bottom-line contributing business area.

Manuel Campos Monteiro is currently the New Business Development Group Leader at Fraunhofer Portugal Research Centre for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions (AICOS).

Manuel holds an M.Sc. in Electrical and Computers Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. He graduated in 2012 after presenting his work on wireless-optical interfaces, developed at INESC-TEC. Manuel joined Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS' research team in 2012, conducting research activities in sensors' data acquisition, analysis, and processing, in the scope of several projects. In 2018, he became Innovation Lead for Cognitive Connected Solutions.

In 2019, he joined ACLImpex. After working as the Director for Technology Innovation and as a Member of the Executive Board for one year, Manuel returned to Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS for his current role.

He has been collaborating with different organizations as an Innovation Consultant since 2017.

Elvira Fortunato is a Full Professor at FCT NOVA | Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education (2022-2024) | Vice-Rector at NOVA for Research (2017-2022) | Chief Scientific Advisor at Scientific Advice Mechanism EC (2015-2020).

Elvira Fortunato pioneered European research on transparent electronics, namely thin-film transistors based on oxide semiconductors, demonstrating that oxide materials may be used as true semiconductors. She is a co-inventor of the paper electronics concept worldwide: Paper-e®. In 2008 she won an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for the project “Invisible” and in 2018 she received the second one from ERC, with the amount of € 3.5 million. The project is entitled "Multifunctional Digital Materials Platform for Smart Integrated Applications | DIGISMART".

Her research team is exploring novel active properties in advanced and sustainable multifunctional materials, including oxides as well as novel electronic-active materials including alternative deposition methods, with the main objective of developing eco-friendly technologies and devices to be used and exploited in electronic circuits made of stable amorphous semiconductors able to serve large area smart flexible and conformable surface electronics.

She is an elected member of the Academy of Engineering (2008); European Academy of Sciences (2016); Lisbon Academy of Sciences (2017) and Academia Europaea (2019). She belongs to the Board of Trustees of the Luso‐American Development Foundation (2014).

Since 2016, she has been one of the members of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors from the European Commission.

She has been coordinating since 2019 at NOVA University the SPEAR project, a European platform for supporting and implementing plans for gender equality in academia and research.

Carlos Pascoal Neto is a Full Professor at the University of Aveiro (UA) and a Director at RAIZ / The Navigator Company.

Starting his academic career in 1992, he left the University of Aveiro in 2015 to join The Navigator Company (former Portucel Soporcel Group) as General Director at RAIZ – Forest and Paper Research Institute, the R&D center for the company.

He was Vice-Rector of the University of Aveiro for Cooperation with Society, Innovation, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship (2010-2015). Previously, he had been the Director of the Chemistry Department (2007-2010). Carlos's teaching and research activities at UA were focused on Forest Products Chemistry and Technology.

He graduated in Chemistry from UA and holds a Ph.D. from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG), France. He was later an Aggregate Professor in Chemistry at UA.

Carlos Clara is currently the CEO of Grupo Clara Saúde and a Specialist Doctor in Clinical Pathology at the Labocentro laboratory. He graduated in Medicine at the University of Coimbra in 1989 and later obtained the degree of Specialist in Clinical Pathology. He has completed several post-graduation studies (Management of Health Units, Business Management) and is a trained quality control auditor. His professional career includes positions as Director of the Clinical Pathology Service (Centro Hospitalar Barreiro Montijo), military General Physician and Head of the Health Services, and teaching activities in different Higher Education institutions.

He was Vice-President of ANL (National Association of Laboratories, 2006-2008), President of APOMEPA (Associação Portuguesa dos Médicos Patologistas, President, 2004-2012), and he is currently a member of AMGUS (Association of Medical Managers of Health Units) and Ambassador of the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health at the Centro Hospitalar Barreiro Montijo.

Tatiana Lima Costa holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry (University of Aveiro, UA) and a Post-Graduation in Industrial Property Law (University of Lisbon).

For the past six years, she worked as Science and Technology Manager/ Funding Advisor at the Research Support Office of UA, mainly supporting pre- award, post-award/project management, and internationalization activities. Previously she integrated the UA technology transfer office (2011-2014), where she dealt with intellectual property issues, knowledge and technology transfer, and University-private sector cooperation.

For the past few years, she has been invited as a lecturer on different courses and has been collaborating with the European Commission as an independent expert, as well as with the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA) and its UK counterpart (ARMA).

Current interests include Research Management, Technology Transfer, Entrepreneurship, Technology and Innovation Management, Science and Innovation Politics, and University-private sector Relations.

Yoni Engel is an experienced technology-oriented business and product manager, with broad scientific and technical expertise across multiple industries in global markets. He has served as the Head of Process Engineering R&D for the Potash division of ICL (Israel Chemicals) and later worked as the Director of Product and Vice President of Business Development for a high- tech company specializing in smart packaging, brand protection, and anti- counterfeiting technologies.

Yoni was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Massachusetts (2013) and holds an M.Sc. in Organic chemistry (2007), a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Tel-Aviv University (2012), as well as an M.Sc. in Energy Engineering from the Technion Institute of Technology (2014). He is the author and co-author of 15 scientific publications and patents in the field of chemistry and nanotechnology.

Luís Pereira was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1977. He received an Engineering degree in Materials Science in 2001 and finished his Ph.D. in Microelectronics and Optoelectronics in 2008 at Universidade Nova de Lisboa. His Ph.D. thesis focused on polycrystalline silicon and high k dielectrics for TFT’s application. Luís pos-doc activities focused on developing printed inorganic nanostructured materials for chromogenic, electronic, and electrochemical devices on paper and plastic substrates. He was part of the team that demonstrated transistors made of oxides with paper acting as gate dielectric for the first time. Luís authored and co-authored more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals and proceedings of the ISI with more than 13000 citations.

Luís was a professor at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia/Universidade Nova de Lisboa (FCT/UNL) from 2012 to 2020, where he coordinated and participated in several R&D projects under different funding schemes, including direct industry funding. In 2015, he received a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for the development of cellulose nanocomposites for paper electronics (New-Fun, project 640598). Recent research interests include the design and synthesis of 1D, 2D, and 3D inorganic and hybrid nanostructures, chiral cellulose nanocomposites, functional micro, and nanofibers, and their integration on chromogenic, electronic, and electrochemical devices.

Currently, he is a member of the board of the Portuguese Professional Engineer Association – South Region, Vice-President of the TCM-Net (Transparent Conductive Materials Network), a member of the board of the Portuguese Materials Society (SPM), an invited Associate Professor at FCT/UNL, and an associate researcher at CENIMAT/I3N.

Filipe Sousa is the coordinator of the Connected Things research group at Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS, where he leads a team of 20 researchers. In this role, he oversees the team’s activities, defines the research agenda, and drives innovation in cyber-physical systems, securing competitive funding and fostering partnerships with industry. He has led several high-impact projects, including AAL4ALL, SmartBEAT, and the technical coordination of the Deus Ex Machina (DeM) project.

In addition to his research work, Filipe Sousa is a visiting professor at the University of Aveiro, the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, and the Porto Business School (PBS). He teaches courses such as programming, network and systems management, IoT, and Industry 4.0, and supervises students engaged in R&D projects.

His professional career began at INESC Porto, where he participated in five European research projects focused on improving wireless sensor communications for healthcare applications. Filipe Sousa holds a PhD in Telecommunications from the University of Porto and an MBA in Information Management from the Catholic University of Porto. His main research interests include mobile computing, distributed computing, and wireless communications.

Pedro Barquinha received his Ph.D. in Nanotechnologies and Nanosciences from NOVA University of Lisbon in 2010. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Materials Science Department of FCT-NOVA and the Materials for Electronics, Optoelectronics, and Nanotechnology group leader at I3N/ CENIMAT.

Low-temperature oxide electronics has been his core research area since 2004, including thin film deposition, nanostructure synthesis, and their integration into flexible devices such as transistors, circuits, and nanogenerators.

Pedro has been involved in 40+ research projects within academia and industry, including an ERC Starting Grant (TREND) and an ERC Proof of Concept Grant (FLETRAD). He co-authored >170 peer-reviewed papers (h-index=52, as of September 2022), three books, and seven book chapters. He is an editor at IEEE EDL since 2020.

Since 2022 he is a member of the Portuguese Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation, and also a member of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) council.

Andreia Cardoso has a Ph.D. in Nanotechnologies and Nanosciences, with a degree in Physical Engineering from the New University of Lisbon, Faculty of Science and Technology. She has more than 15 years of experience in research institutes and industry, with vast experience in coordinating and executing R&DI and engineering projects. In the last few years, Andreia has worked in innovation, focused on developing ideas and their implementation through multidisciplinary R&DI projects (national and international) to promote new technological areas. Andreia has been a supervisor and jury member for Master’s and Ph.D. students while also reviewing scientific articles for peer-reviewed journals. She has published more than 20 peer-review journal papers and book chapters. Currently, she is an innovation Manager at INCM (the Portuguese Mint and Official Printing Office).

Main work experience: Innovation manager; project manager; security documents, security materials; security elements and inks; industrial sustainability; R&D&I.

Besma Kraiem has over 25 years of experience in engineering, strategy & planning, B2B sales and marketing, business development, and operation management.

Besma is a Tunisian German executive with broad experience in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She held various leadership positions in Consumer Electronics, Telecom, IT, Engineering, and Consulting Services across Germany, the UK, Japan, Qatar, and Portugal.

Her various roles included developing and launching new products and services, developing and executing global branding campaigns, managing European-wide B2B accounts, coordinating global commercial strategies, building and managing sponsorship programs, implementing new market entries and long-term relationships with strategic partners, leading sales and business development teams across multiple countries, and advising founders and CxOs on strategy and growth plans.

Besma currently serves as an Executive Board Member at ISQ, a Portuguese Engineering Group with 13 companies operating in more than 20 countries.

Frederico is a C-level executive focused on investment management since 2016. Frederico's 18+ years of international academic and professional track record spans the UK, France, Portugal, and Brazil.

In 2021, Frederico founded Front Capital (Portugal), an angel investment and advisory firm serving companies, startups, individual investors, equity funds, and public policymakers.

Before launching Front Capital, Frederico served as Executive Board Director and Chief Investment Officer at Instituição Financeira de Desenvolvimento, the state-owned public development bank in Portugal (venture and private equity, bank on-lending, and mutual credit guarantees), Executive Board Director of Portugal Ventures, a leading venture capital firm (ICT, Life Sciences, Hardware, Travel), Analyst and then VP at BNP Paribas (investment banking) and The Royal Bank of Scotland (M&A and structured finance in the UK, France, and Brazil), and Cabinet Aide for the Portuguese Government (corporate finance and privatizations for infrastructure SOEs and PPPs).

Gonçalo Caseiro's professional career is evidence of his dedication to Public Service and Innovation, having played several functions in public administration agencies and the private sector. He was directly involved in implementing eGovernment strategies transversal to the Portuguese State, and he was a consultant for the Brazilian State in public procurement oversight strategies.

In December 2020, he was distinguished as The Best Digital Leader in Portugal by IDC.

Gonçalo brings together 13+ years of executive experience in large organizations to organizational development and digital transformation. He created over 30 R&D projects and collaborated with more than 50 entities. Gonçalo created the biggest Portuguese innovation award: the IN3+ Award.

Pedro Almeida is the Managing Director of PCI – Creative Science Park Aveiro Region, a science and technology park with the mission to be the operational and strategic promoter of innovation, knowledge, and entrepreneurship in the Aveiro region.

He holds an M.Sc. in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Aveiro, and a Postgraduate Degree in Management for Executives from the same University. He developed his professional career in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector and has more than 20 years of experience in research, development, and innovation.

Between 2000 and 2007 he was a researcher at IEETA – Instituto de Engenharia Eletrónica e Telemática de Aveiro. From 2006 to 2012 he was an Independent Expert Evaluator in the European Commission's eContentplus and CIP ICT PSP Policy Support programs. Between 2007 and 2012 he was a founding partner and CEO of one of the first spin-off companies of the University of Aveiro. Since 2013 he has been a member of the Board of the Fraunhofer Portugal Research Association (Fraunhofer Portugal), and between 2013 and 2021 he was responsible for the Shared Services Department and the Financial Department of the same entity. Between 2000 and 2021, he was President of Inova-Ria, an association of ICT-based companies, and Invited Assistant Professor at the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications at the University of Aveiro.

Sebastião is a manager with 12+ years of experience mixing R&D, technology, and digital transformation in companies.

Currently, he is a Strategic Advisor at Salesforce, working with companies of various sizes and in several sectors across Portugal and Europe to accelerate their data and digital transition.

Previously, Sebastião was a Principal at BCG, supporting companies in the telecommunications and technology sector to define and accelerate their business and digital transformation. Previously, he was an R&D engineer at l’Oréal.

Bruna has a MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Évora.

During her BSc, she had the opportunity to work with edible films. Later, during her MSc, she embraced electrochemistry with an innovative theme: to find toxic components in tattoo ink through electrochemical methods.

At this time, she has embraced ​​Materials Engineering and is developing her doctoral thesis in the subject, while developing new technologies for AlmaScience.

Bruno Ravanello is researcher on Paper Technology at AlmaScience. He has a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences from Martin Luther University (Germany), where he worked with the chemical functionalization of carbon nanomaterials. Bruno's expertise ranges from synthetic organic chemistry to the pulp and paper industry, developing projects in biorefinery, chemical modifications of forest-based materials, and smart applications for bio-based products.

Bruno Veigas is a researcher at AlmaScience focused on the development of biosensors, with an emphasis on multiplexed, on-site-enabled technologies.

Some of these concepts led to the development of electrochemical-based real- time gene expression methods, nanotechnology-based infectious disease detection, and nano-optical principles for early detection of autoimmune diseases, together with the integration into microfluidic devices.

Catarina Fernandes is a researcher at AlmaScience focused on Sensor Development. She graduated in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the NOVA School of Science and Technology. With an industry background, she served as Engineering Project Designer and worked on certification processes based on the implementation of an Integrated Management System.

Cristina Gaspar has a Ph.D. in Printed Intelligence from Aalto University.

She acquired a comprehensive knowledge of sensor development and upscaling R2R technologies at VTT, of printing nano cellulose-based solutions at Aalto, and of paper electronics at Cenimat.

Currently, as a researcher at AlmaScience, she develops innovative, sustainable, and eco-friendly cellulose-based smart applications for everyday life.

Hamza Ijaz is an Embedded Systems and IoT Engineer with over a decade of experience in hardware, IoT platforms, and intelligent monitoring solutions. He has been part of the AlmaScience team since August 2025.

Previously, at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (2020–2023), he designed and deployed IoT SaaS platforms for laboratory monitoring based on LoRaWAN, achieving operational cost reductions of around 70%. At INESC Technology and Science (2017–2018), he developed wearable health monitoring devices. At CISTER (2013–2015), he developed hardware modules for energy monitoring in data centres.

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, and a Master's degree in Design and Implementation of ICT Products and Systems from KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm).

Tomás Freire is a researcher on functionalized inks at AlmaScience.

He obtained his MSc in Materials Engineering at NOVA School of Science and Technology in 2018.

Before joining AlmaScience, Tomás worked as a research fellow at CENIMAT, where he developed a strong interest in technology development and abridging the academic-industry relationship gap.

Rita Baptista, a BSc and MSc in Biochemistry, is a researcher at AlmaScience, where she conducts R&D activities in the field of chemistry. She has a strong background in analytical chemistry (electrochemistry) and biophysics. Her main interests revolve around the synthesis and characterization of cellulose-based matrixes and the integration of biomolecules on cellulose substrates for sensing applications.

Filipe Matos is a researcher in Chemistry/Biochemistry at AlmaScience. He completed his MSc in Biochemistry at the University of Aveiro. For his Master's thesis, he developed a novel bio-ink for 3D bio-printing based on an alginate hydrogel and cellulose microparticles.

Before joining AlmaScience, he worked at CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials on a research grant and as a member of the European project GRETE, focusing on sustainability in the textile industry by functionalizing and modifying regenerated cellulose with natural green compounds.

Inês Martins is a researcher at AlmaScience in Smart Materials.

She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2023 at the University of Bologna in the scope of the UHMob project, as part of an ITN of the Marie Sklodowska Curie Action (MSCA) in the field of organic semiconductors. During her Ph.D., she focused on the study of polymorphism of organic molecular semiconductors both in bulk and in thin films.

Additionally, she was a researcher in the CENIMAT/i3N, with a focus on microfabrication and flexible substrates.

Tomás Pires is a researcher at AlmaScience focused on materials for biotechnology applications. He completed his MSc in Bioengineering and Nanosystems at Instituto Superior Técnico in 2021.

During his studies he learned about a diverse range of subjects, combining biology with nanotechnology, electronics, and material science. For his Master’s thesis, he chose to work with nanofiber-reinforced hydrogels for cartilage substitution, studying how unconventional sterilization methods affected the material’s properties and biocompatibility.

Driven by curiosity and always keen to learn about other areas of study, Tomás is passionate about bridging academic knowledge with the industrial market.

Mariana Matias obtained her MSc in Micro and Nanotechnologies Engineering at NOVA School of Science and Technology in 2019.

She worked as a researcher on several projects at CENIMAT before joining AlmaScience, where she now works as a researcher in printed electronics.

Mariana Peixoto is a researcher at AlmaScience, whose primary focus is smart materials.

She obtained her Master's degree in Micro and Nanotechnology Engineering from the NOVA School of Science and Technology in 2023.

During her MSc dissertation, she worked with encapsulation of printed and flexible electronics, where she produced pressure and thermoelectric sensors and developed new encapsulation materials.

Mónica Simões is a researcher at AlmaScience on Paper Technology. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical and Process Engineering in 2021 at the Graz University of Technology in the scope of the FibretNet project, an innovative Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions ITN project in the field of bio-based fibers. Her background as an R&D engineer includes stimuli-sensitive drug delivery systems, intelligent textiles, nanoscale inter-fiber contact measuring techniques, and paper performance and technology.

João Avelas Resende is a Senior Researcher on Materials for Electronics at AlmaScience.

His main research focus is on new sustainable materials for microelectronics and energy harvesting technologies.

In his current position, he explores the innovation, development, and deployment of cellulose-based materials for smart and sustainable applications.

Sumita Goswami is a researcher at AlmaScience working on sensor technology development.

She did her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Nanotechnology following a Post- Doc in CENIMAT|i3N group of Portugal.

Her expertise is in functional polymer materials for diverse applications, such as energy harvesting, sensing, and data storage; prototype development & design for wearables and paper-based electronics; characterization and analysis of relevant process data; identification of scientific/technological solutions to process challenges.

Ana Peres is a highly experienced Senior Designer and Marketer, with over 14 years of professional experience.

After a brief period studying Biochemistry, Ana graduated from Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa in 2017 with a degree in Industrial Design.

Throughout her career, Ana developed a special interest in Marketing and Strategy and has honed her skills in various areas of Design and Marketing, working with a wide range of organizations, both non-profit and private companies, across diverse business sectors.

Since September 2021, Ana has been serving as Marketing Communication Specialist at AlmaScience.

Mafalda Pereira is a highly motivated, creative, and versatile scientific professional with a postgraduate degree in Sustainable Management. Mafalda brings vast experience in developing and implementing marketing and communication strategies for different sectors, and she is trained in conducting research through multiple scientific projects.

Rui is an experienced Marketing Manager with a 20+ years track record in B2B marketing & communications in a wide range of industries: hospitality, sports, health and pharma, engineering, science, and technology.

Rui holds a Communication Sciences degree from NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities. He started his professional career in cinema and theatre and remains passionate about performing arts, sci-fi, and philosophy to this day.

Carla Loureiro has a degree in Business Management from the University of Minho.

During her professional career in finance, she acquired several valuable experiences. Carla started working in an accounting office, being responsible for accounting, payroll, human resources, tax obligations and other responsibilities of several companies, namely private companies and nonprofit organizations.

Later, Carla authored several articles as a consultant and a creator of content for social networks in a nationally renowned accounting and tax journal, where she also had the privilege of writing down a printed and published tax code. Later, she had the opportunity to take up the position of financial coordinator in a subsidiary of the largest applied research center in Europe, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and after three years she became the finance group leader. In addition to the usual accounting and tax responsibilities, she added funding programs management, leadership skills, preparation of detailed financial reports for Germany, financial audits, KPI analysis and management of deviations, and presentation of results to the different boards.

Carla joined AlmaScience in 2025.