Filipa Simões

Filipa Simões is a Group Leader and British Heart Foundation Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellow at the Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine (IDRM), University of Oxford. She holds a Hugh Price Fellowship in Regenerative Medicine at Jesus College, Oxford. Her work focuses on immune cell programming in cardiac repair, leveraging genomics, spatial omics, and in vivo/in vitro models to dissect macrophage roles in heart regeneration. She completed her PhD at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and postdoctoral research at Oxford, identifying epicardial subpopulations and macrophage contributions to cardiac scarring.

Education:

• BSc Microbiology and Genetics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
• PhD Biochemistry, University of Coimbra (research at Oxford’s Weatherall Institute)
• Postdoctoral Training: Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics, University of Oxford

Research Interests: Filipa’s lab explores how macrophages are programmed by neighboring cells to repair heart attack damage. Key themes include immune-cell-cardiac crosstalk, fibrosis pathways, and regenerative signaling. Techniques employed span spatial genomics, functional assays, and zebrafish models to map cellular microenvironments.

Awards:

• British Heart Foundation Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellowship
• British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence Transition Fellowship

Teaching: Leads undergraduate courses in Cardiovascular Development, Genomics, and Developmental Biology. Oversees postgraduate modules on cardio-immuno genomics and cardiac regeneration.

Labs/Teams: Heads a multidisciplinary team at IDRM, integrating developmental biology, immunology, and regenerative medicine approaches to advance cardiac repair strategies.