We are pleased to announce that Prof. Lino Ferreira, from CNC-UC, University of Coimbra, Portugal, will join Targeting Extracellular Vesicles 2026 as a speaker.

Prof. Lino Ferreira’s presentation will highlight two recent studies led by his research group.

The first study focuses on vascular aging, where cellular senescence is a major driver of endothelial dysfunction through the accumulation of pro-inflammatory senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors. Despite the recognized role of senescent endothelial cells (ECs) in age-related vascular decline, strategies for their selective targeting remain limited. To address this challenge, his group performed a functional high-throughput microRNA (miRNA) screen to identify novel senotherapeutic candidates capable of modulating endothelial senescence. Delivery of the identified miRNAs via engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) selectively attenuated senescence and SASP-associated features in ECs without inducing cytotoxicity. Importantly, systemic administration of miRNA-loaded EVs in aged mice reduced senescence markers, suppressed SASP factors, and improved measures of physiological frailty. These findings establish a novel precision-medicine approach for targeting endothelial senescence and mitigating vascular aging.

In the second study, his group developed a rejuvenating coating for medical devices designed to promote tissue regeneration in aged environments. As a proof of concept, they demonstrated that the coating restores regenerative capacity and enhances repair responses in aged bone tissue, highlighting its potential to improve the performance of implanted medical devices in elderly patients. Together, these studies illustrate complementary strategies to counteract age-associated dysfunction at both the cellular and tissue levels, with promising implications for regenerative medicine and healthy aging.