About the research:
Biomolecular condensates are dynamic structures that spatially and temporally organize cellular components, creating specialized environments for biochemical reactions. Alterations in their formation and dynamics have been linked to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of neuronal proteins containing intrinsically disordered regions.
This project investigates how non-enzymatic oxidative modifications affect the formation, maturation, and composition of these condensates in dementia. By integrating in vitro, in cellulo, and in vivo models, the research aims to determine how oxidative insults promote the transition from functional condensates to dysfunctional states and irreversible neurotoxic aggregates.
The project seeks to identify mechanisms linking aging, biomolecular condensation, and neurodegeneration, ultimately revealing potential therapeutic targets.
Awards and honors:
🏆 Prebys Foundation Recruit Award for Female Scientists (2024–2025)
🏆 5th Young Researcher Award (3rd Place), Brazilian Society for Cell Biology (SBBC) and Cytiva (2024)
🏆 Honorable Mention, CAPES Thesis Award in Pharmacy, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) (2024)
🏆 Best Poster Award, Science Without Borders Day, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde (2014)
🏆 Zigman Brener Award for Best Poster in Cell Biology, Brazilian Society of Protozoology (SBPz) (2012)
Selected publications:
Do Amaral, M.J., Mohapatra, S., Passos, A. R., Da Silva, T. S. L., Carvalho, R. S., Almeida, M.D.S., Pinheiro, A.D.S., Wegmann, S. and Cordeiro, Y. (2023). Copper drives prion protein phase separation and modulates aggregation. Science Advances, eadi7347(2023). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adi7347 doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi7347
Passos, A. R., Costa-Filho, A. J., Oliveira, C. G., Kava, E., de Oliveira, G. A. P., Rosa e Silva, I., Silva, J.L., de Oliveira, J.F., dos Santos Cabral, K.M., Mendes, L.F.S.*, Da Silva Almeida, M., Do Amaral, M.J.*, Marques, M.A. and Cordeiro, Y. (2026). Advancing biomolecular condensates research in Brazil: a collective effort. Biophysical Reviews, 1-29. link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12551-026-01454-7
Do Amaral, M.J., de Oliveira, L. S., and Cordeiro, Y. (2025). Zinc ions trigger the prion protein liquid-liquid phase separation. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications,753, 151489. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2025.151489 doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2025.151489
Do Amaral, M. J., de Andrade Rosa, I., Andrade, S. A., Fang, X., Andrade, L. R., Costa, M. L., & Mermelstein, C. (2022). The perinuclear region concentrates disordered proteins with predicted phase separation distributed in a 3D network of cytoskeletal filaments and organelles. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Molecular Cell Research, 1869(1), 119161. doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamcr.2021.119161
Do Amaral, M. J., Araujo, T. S., Díaz, N. C., Accornero, F., Polycarpo, C. R., Cordeiro, Y., Cabral, K. M. S. & Almeida, M. S. (2020). Phase Separation and Disorder-to-Order Transition of Human Brain Expressed X-Linked 3 (hBEX3) in the Presence of Small Fragments of tRNA. Journal of Molecular Biology, 432(7), 2319-2348 doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2020.02.030
