Hugo Ribeiro Fernandes

Hugo Ribeiro Fernandes serves as Group Leader and Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG) and Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, with college affiliation at Kellogg College. His research targets molecular mechanisms of selective neuronal vulnerability in dementia to identify novel therapeutic interventions.

His academic journey includes a Biology degree from the University of Minho (Portugal), research training at the Academic Medical Centre (Netherlands) and Karolinska Institute (Sweden), and a 2014 PhD from Oxford developing human stem-cell models for Parkinson’s disease. Subsequent positions included the Wellcome Sanger Institute (high-throughput tool development) and UK Dementia Research Institute at Cambridge (neurodegeneration target identification).

Dr. Fernandes’ program integrates three synergistic research pillars: impaired lipid metabolism (focusing on cholesterol biosynthesis, lipid droplet homeostasis, and fatty acid metabolism in dementia), neuronal resilience drivers (via CRISPR screens targeting lipid dysregulation, ER stress, and lysosomal function), and functional cellular heterogeneity (using single-cell lipidomics/transcriptomics to dissect neuronal diversity in neurodegeneration). His iPSC-based “disease-in-a-dish” models enable mechanistic studies of early cellular dysregulation.

Analysis of his 10 most recent publications (2020-2024) reveals consistent emphasis on Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis through lipid-centric approaches, with dominant themes including GBA1/SNCA/MAPT mutation effects, oxidative stress responses, and innovative platform development for proteomics and single-cell analysis. Key methodologies span CRISPR screening, lipidomics, and transcriptomics to uncover disease targets.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leader Fellowship

His Fernandes Group, established in 2023 with Alzheimer’s Society funding, operates within Oxford’s DPAG and Kavli Institute infrastructure. Dr. Fernandes actively promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and invites research partnership discussions, leveraging expertise in stem cell modeling, genome editing, and high-throughput phenotyping to advance neurodegeneration therapeutics.