Seeking to endure a career in gerontology that is successful in increasing our knowledge of the biology of human aging and of the genetic basis of aging and age-related disease.

Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Namur, Belgium
Ph.D., Biological Sciences, January 2004
Thesis title: Modelling human ageing: role of telomeres in stress-induced premature senescence and design of anti-ageing strategies. Advisor: Dr. Olivier Toussaint.

Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Porto, Portugal
Licentiate in Microbiology, July 1999
My final mark was 80.5% (16/20). I was ranked number one in my class.

Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics, Lipper Center for Computational Genetics, Boston, USA
Postdoctoral fellow, June 2004 - present
Conceived, designed, and implemented the Human Ageing Genomic Resources, a new set of databases and tools for applying computational approaches to study aging. Derived the first genomic and proteomic network map of human aging. Applied the Gompertz mortality model to a number of genetically-modified mouse strains and estimated whether aging rate was accelerated or delayed in these. Revised the developmental theory of aging and proposed a model linking development to brain aging in which childhood events essential for brain development result in neurodegeneration later in life. Interpreted the role of reactive oxygen species in aging in light of their employment in development and growth. Identified human disease-causing alleles in the mitochondrial genome of nonhuman primates, which could be associated with the evolution of longevity and intelligence in the human lineage. Mentor: Prof. George Church.

Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Unité de Recherche en Biologie Cellulaire Animale, Ageing and Stress Group, Namur, Belgium
Doctoral fellow, October 1999 - January 2004
Proposed a refined model for the evolution of mammalian aging. Demonstrated stress-induced premature senescence in telomerase-immortalized cells and questioned the role of telomeres in this process. Argued against the use of telomerase as an anti-aging therapy. Researched gene expression patterns and transcription factors in senescent and stressed human fibroblasts, resulting in a new model involving the rearrangement of gene expression networks under oxidative stress. Contributed to the establishment of a cellular stress model using UVB. Assisted in researching the role of TGF-ß1 in stress-induced premature senescence. Conceived a strategy and developed software for the application of high-throughput computational tools, such as comparative genomics, to investigate aging. Investigated stress-response mechanisms in Werner syndrome fibroblasts.

Universidade do Porto, Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Human Genetics and Genetic Disorders, Unidade de Investigação Genética e Epidemológica de Doenças Neurológicas, Porto, Portugal
Research Intern, October 1998 - June 1999
Used molecular biology techniques and bioinformatic tools to identify and characterize a homologue of Machado-Joseph's disease in C. elegans. Advisor: Prof. Jorge Sequeiros.

Biology and genetics of human aging: evolutionary and comparative biology of aging, application of high-throughput technologies - such as comparative genomics - to the study of aging, gene expression and transcriptional regulation during aging, chromatin and DNA metabolism, Werner’s syndrome, cellular models of aging and stem cells, neurodegeneration, ontogeny and its relation to aging, nanomedicine, and anti-aging interventions.

de Magalhães, JP, and Church, GM (2006) "Cells discover fire: Employing reactive oxygen species in development and consequences for aging." Experimental Gerontology 41(1):1-10.

de Magalhães, JP (2005) "Human disease-associated mitochondrial mutations fixed in nonhuman primates." Journal of Molecular Evolution 61(4):491-497.

de Magalhães, JP, and Sandberg, A (2005) "Cognitive aging as an extension of brain development: A model linking learning, brain plasticity, and neurodegeneration." Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 126(10):1026-1033.

de Magalhães, JP, and Church, GM (2005) "Genomes optimize reproduction: aging as a consequence of the developmental program." Physiology (Bethesda) 20(4):252-259.

de Magalhães, JP, Cabral, JAS, Magalhães, D (2005) "The influence of genes on the aging process of mice: a statistical assessment of the genetics of aging." Genetics 169(1):265-274.

de Magalhães, JP, Costa, J, Toussaint, O (2005) "HAGR: the Human Ageing Genomic Resources." Nucleic Acids Research 33(Database issue): D537-D543.

de Magalhães, JP (2005) "Open-minded scepticism: inferring the causal mechanisms of human ageing from genetic perturbations." Ageing Research Reviews 4(1):1-22.

de Magalhães, JP, Chainiaux, F, de Longueville, F, Mainfroid, V, Migeot, V, Marcq, L, Remacle, J, Salmon, M, Toussaint, O (2004) "Gene expression and regulation in H2O2-induced premature senescence of human foreskin fibroblasts expressing or not telomerase" Experimental Gerontology 39(9):1379-1389.

de Magalhães, JP (2004) "From cells to ageing: a review of models and mechanisms of cellular senescence and their impact on human ageing" Experimental Cell Research 300(1):1-10.

de Magalhães, JP, and Toussaint, O (2004) "Telomeres and telomerase: a modern Fountain of Youth?" Rejuvenation Research 7(2):126-133.

de Magalhães, JP, and Toussaint, O (2004) "GenAge: a genomic and proteomic network map of human ageing." FEBS Letters 571(1-3):243-247.

de Magalhães, JP, Migeot, V, Mainfroid, V, de Longueville, F, Remacle, J, Toussaint, O (2004) "No increase in senescence-associated ß-galactosidase activity in Werner-syndrome fibroblasts after exposure to H2O2." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1019:375-378.

de Magalhães, JP and Toussaint, O (2004) "How bioinformatics can help reverse engineer human aging." Ageing Research Reviews, 3(2):125-141.

de Magalhães, JP (2004) "Alice's Dilemma." Futures 36(1):85-89.

de Magalhães, JP (2003) "Is mammalian aging genetically controlled?" Biogerontology 4(2):119-120.

Chainiaux, F, Magalhaes, JP, Eliaers, F, Remacle, J, Toussaint, O (2002) "UV-B induced premature senescence of human diploid skin fibroblasts." International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology 34(11):1331-1339.

de Magalhães, JP, Chainiaux, F, Remacle, J, Toussaint, O (2002) "Stress-induced premature senescence in BJ and hTERT-BJ1 human fibroblasts." FEBS Letters 523(1-3):157-162.

de Magalhães, JP and Toussaint, O (2002) "The evolution of mammalian aging." Experimental Gerontology 37(6):769-75.

Frippiat, C, Chen, QM, Zdanov, S, Magalhaes, JP, Remacle, J, Toussaint, O (2001) "Subcytotoxic H2O2 stress triggers a release of TGF-ß1 which induces biomarkers of cellular senescence of human diploid fibroblasts." Journal of Biological Chemistry 276(4):2531-2537.

de Magalhães, JP (2006) "Species Selection in Comparative Studies of Aging and Antiaging Research." In: Conn, PM (ed.), Handbook of Models for Human Aging. Elsevier Academic Press, Burlington, MA, pp. 9-20.

de Magalhães, JP (2004) "The Dream of Elixir Vitae." In: Immortality Institute (ed.), The Scientific Conquest of Death: Essays on Infinite Lifespans. Libros En Red, Buenos Aires, pp. 47-62.

de Magalhães, JP, Costa, J, Church, GM "Metabolic rates are not associated with longevity in eutherian species." 35th Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association, Boston, MA, USA, 2-5 June 2006 [Poster].

de Magalhães, JP "How genomes regulate aging." Longevity Consortium Symposium, San Francisco, CA, USA, February 27-March 1, 2005 [Invited talk].

de Magalhães, JP "The genetic network of human ageing: a system-level approach." TransVision 2004, Toronto, Canada, 6-8 August 2004 [Talk].

de Magalhães, JP "Prolongar a vida - um sonho sem idade." ENEB VIII, Coimbra, Portugal, 3-5 April 2004 [Invited talk].

de Magalhães, JP "Avanço científico - o risco do progresso?" ENEB VIII, Coimbra, Portugal, 3-5 April 2004 [Invited talk].

de Magalhães, JP, Migeot, V, Mainfroid, V, de Longueville, F, Remacle, J, Toussaint, O "No increase in senescence-associated ß-galactosidase activity in Werner-syndrome fibroblasts after exposure to H2O2." 10th Congress of The International Association of Biomedical Gerontology, Cambridge, UK, 19-23 September 2003 [Poster].

de Magalhães, JP, Chainiaux, F, Remacle, J, Toussaint, O "Stress-induced premature senescence in telomerase-immortalized human fibroblasts." First Conference on Functional Genomics of Ageing, Seville, Spain, 24-27 April 2002 [Poster].

Magalhães, JP "The evolution of mammalian aging." 17th World Congress of Gerontology, Vancouver, Canada, 1-6 July 2001 [Poster].

Magalhães, JP "Aging: the first obstacle to transhumanists." TransVision 2001, Berlin, Germany, 22-24 June 2001 [Talk].

I have also given lectures and seminars at various institutions mostly in Portugal and in the US.

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Lisboa, Portugal
Doctoral Fellowship, Programa Praxis XXI, 2000 - 2003

Universidade do Porto, Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Porto, Portugal
Biochemistry and Genetics of Ageing, VI Programa Gulbenkian de Doutoramento em Biologia e Medicina, May - June 1999.

Operating systems: Windows, DOS, MacOS, and Unix/Linux.

Programming languages: Perl (including Bioperl), PHP, SQL, HTML, and basic skills in Visual Basic/VBA, ASP, XML, CGI, CSS, C/C++, JAVA, and JavaScript.

Database management: experience with MySQL, PostgreSQL, Access, and web database creation using PHP and CGI.

Statistical analyses: familiar with, but not restricted to, demographic analyses such as the Kaplan-Meier method and the Gompertz model, phylogenetic analyses (using Mesquite and its PDAP package), SPSS, and Matlab.

Additional skills: Hardware expertise and computer maintenance, graphic design, word-processing, website creation, web server and software, composing computer music, and experience using a wide variety of software.

Cell culture, microbiology techniques, molecular biology (including western and southern blotting, telomere length measurement, electrophoresis, transfection, restriction digests, and PCR), DNA microarray expertise (including clustering and data analysis), confocal microscopy, and bioinformatics (Bioperl, sequence alignment, comparative genomics, phylogenetic footprinting, promoter analysis, standard online databases, and experience in many bioinformatics tools).

Native Portuguese. Fluent English (written and spoken). Proficient Spanish, French, and Italian (spoken).

Football player for Kinvara FC, participating in the Massachusetts State Soccer League, affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation, 2005.

Invited participant at "Levanta-te e Ri", SIC, Portugal's first stand-up comedy TV show, April 12, 2004.

Invited participant at the First Portuguese Stand-Up Comedy Festival, Fio Mental, in Braga, March - April 2003.

"Winning the war against aging." The Futurist, Volume 37, No. 2, March-April 2003.

"The one-man rule." The Futurist, Volume 36, No. 6, March-April 2003.

Futsal player for Andoy Bossimé Loyers United, affiliated with the Royal Belgian Football Association, 1999 - 2001.

"The Legend of Hrothgar." Composed and interpreted a music album, September 1999.

"Post-mortem lethal genes." Longevity Report 69, January 1999.

"Fighting aging at its core." Longevity Report 63, January 1998.

"Formula 1 Manager." Designed and programmed a computer game for Commodore AMIGA, May 1994.

"X-List." Served as advisor on the development of an organizer program for Commodore AMIGA, March 1994.

Professor George Church (Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, USA).

Dr. Olivier Toussaint (Department of Biology, University of Namur, Belgium).

Dr. David Harrison (The Jackson Lab, USA).

Professor António Rangel (Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Portugal).