Ana Costa

Graduated in Applied Chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the NOVA University of Lisbon in 1989 and received the doctorate in Organic Chemistry from the same University in 1996. Postdoctoral work in the group where she obtained her doctorate and in Henry Rzepa’s group at Imperial College London. Temporary teacher of Physics and Chemistry in the 3rd cycle of Elementary Education and in Secondary Education and assistant professor at the Beja campus of the Universidade Moderna (Private and Cooperative Higher Education), where she was coordinator of the undergraduate program in Civil Engineering (1997 to 2000) and president of the Scientific Council (1998 to 2000). In October 2000 she joined the University of Algarve as an Assistant Professor of Organic Chemistry, where she has been developing research in the area of ​​organic synthesis, in particular in the synthesis of polymers and chemical modification of natural polymers, as well as in the synthesis of nanoparticles and hybrid materials, with a view to applications in pharmaceutics, electronics, environment and biomedicine. She has been an Associate Professor since August 2024. She is an integrated researcher at CENSE – Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research & CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute. She has been part of the team of 14 funded scientific projects. She is co-author of more than 75 scientific articles, 1 international patent, 3 textbooks in Physics and Chemistry and 1 in Chemistry for high school. She has an h-index of 30 (Scopus). She co-supervised 3 doctoral theses, supervised 2 doctoral students on mobility programs, and supervised or co-supervised a dozen master’s theses, and several scientific and pedagogical internships in Physics and Chemistry. She has been an examiner, member or chair of the examining board in master’s and doctoral dissertations. She has been a reviewer of scientific articles for 15 internationally circulated journals. She participated in the organization of 2 international and 1 national scientific congresses, 4 national meetings of a didactic nature, summer schools and courses, and Chemistry Olympiads. She presented lectures and promoted workshops aimed at high school students and teachers and the general public, and also participated in community service activities. She is the president of the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy and a consultant for a spin-off company, was president of the pedagogical council of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Algarve, was coordinator of the Organic Chemistry section and was a member of the Safety Committee and the Executive Committee of the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy. She was also a member of the accompanying committees of 5 doctoral students, two course directorates and the Accreditation Committee of the Integrated Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and contributed to the educational offerings of the University of Algarve.