“Tests are available, treatment is possible and we can avoid this public health problem that affects a large part of the Portuguese population”, says researcher Eva Cunha.
GPS – Can you describe briefly (for us, lay people) what you do professionally?
Eva Cunha - I work in different areas of biomedical research. One of them, being a public health problem with a high incidence in the Portuguese population, directly related to stomach cancer, the fifth most common type of cancer and the third deadliest of all cancers in the world.
In Portugal, we have the highest mortality rate in western Europe from stomach cancer. The main cause of such a mortality rate is the chronic infection by a bacterium, the Helicobacter pylori, which infects the human stomach and is responsible for the development of gastric ulcers and stomach cancer (Nobel Prize for Medicine 2005).
Despite the clear link identified between the infection and the development of stomach cancer, this problem remains largely ignored.
The route of transmission is not fully established, but there are signs of transmission through oral contact, such as saliva or contaminated food, and it is important to maintain hygiene.
To understand the scale and impact of the problem, we must ask ourselves: how many people do we know who have suffered from stomach cancer? And compared to other health problems? In the Portuguese population, almost everyone knows at least one person.
There are ways to test for infection, but some are not supported by the national health system. Endoscopy is co-paid, but at the request of the patient who is usually unaware of the existence of this problem.
Alternatively, it is possible to carry out a carbon 13 test, which is less invasive (requires drinking a liquid and blowing into a small packet), but which costs around 50 euros in Portugal.
As for the treatment, one of the most widespread, consists of taking 3 or 4 antibiotics and a proton transporter inhibitor (better known by the trade names of Omeprazole, Pantoprazole etc).
Recently, in Portugal, the treatment of four antibiotics with bismuth was approved, which is the most efficient treatment route. The treatment has to be taken seriously as there is a growing resistance of bacteria to the treatment.
In conclusion: tests are available, treatment is possible and we can avoid this public health problem that affects a large part of the Portuguese population.
Testing in conjunction with antibiotics is a lesser evil compared to the development of stomach cancer.
However, I will work towards the development of a drug that overcomes the antibiotic resistance mechanisms that the bacteria use, making the drugs more efficient and more specific, to overcome the growing resistance to the already existing antibiotics.
At this time, we have already identified some inhibitors that specifically bind to a protein essential for the survival of Helicobacter pylori, and we plan to test the efficiency of these inhibitors in cells. The next step will be to test the efficiency in model animals infected with H. pylori.
GPS – Now we ask you to try to infect us: what is particularly exciting about your work area?
Eva Cunha - With the work I do, I have the possibility to make a great contribution to finding answers to problems that affect public health.
I'm currently even using a technique that was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017, electron microscopy.
This technique allows me to study the shape of certain proteins in order to develop new drugs that inhibit or increase their activity.
Additionally, this type of basic research allows the development of other lines of research in different areas, thus facilitating the advancement of research in biomedicine and the general scientific panorama.
GPS – For what reasons did you decide to do research periods abroad and what did you find unexpected in this academic reality?
Eva Cunha - After completing a degree in Biochemistry at the University of Porto in 2006, I moved to the US to continue my academic training.
I completed my PhD in Biophysics at Johns Hopkins University, considered one of the best universities in the world, where I found intellectual, logistical and financial support to develop bold lines of research.
The reasons why I left Portugal are mainly due to my interest in research areas for which there is little or no financial support in Portugal and to the precariousness and uncertainty of the future in areas for which there is some funding.
In the US, I investigated how to produce cheaper and more efficient biofuels, using engineering proteins capable of degrading cellulose to produce glucose.
In 2013, I returned to Europe and, despite having considered a return to Portugal, the fact that there were no research contracts and the financial and logistical support from the State was still little, I decided to go to Spain, where I obtained a post-graduate contract. PhD and investigated the receptor responsible for the entry of the hepatitis C virus into human cells.
Seeing the advances related to the development of electron microscopy, I came in 2016 to the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, in Frankfurt, where I investigated and researched human membrane proteins whose function is related to various human diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, etc.
Recently, I was hired by the University of Oslo, Norway, as a researcher and received financial support from the European Commission, through the Marie Curie Individual Fellowship program, where, in addition to research in H. Pylori, I will also investigate human membrane proteins for which there is no known structure, such as the human Vitamin C transporter.
Despite the importance of Vitamin C in human health, until today there is not much knowledge about its structure, therefore it is not known how Vitamin C enters the cells.
GPS – What is your assessment of the Portuguese scientific panorama, both in your area and in a more general way?
Eva Cunha - Taking into account the limited resources in Portugal, the level of research is excellent, which is only possible thanks to the great effort, often personal, of researchers who want to stay in the country.
There is scarcity, irregularity and discontinuity in funding, which greatly hinders the long-term development of research.
On the other hand, there is also the precariousness of the scholarship holders. Research projects must be continued and, without logistical and financial support, it is very difficult to develop continuous lines of research.
Portuguese scientists establish several mechanisms to overcome the financial and logistical precariousness that exists in Portugal through, for example, collaborations with European institutions, which allows access to technology that does not exist in Portugal.
A good example is electron microscopy for structural biology, which I work with, and for which there is no infrastructure in Portugal. Human resources are and want to be, but there is a lack of financial and logistical support.
GPS – Which GPS tools seem particularly interesting to you, and why?
Eva Cunha - It is an excellent way to connect Portuguese scientists, to know where they are, what they are doing, to establish collaborations and contacts.
It also gives us the opportunity to contact the public, which is extremely important.
Society must and must know what results the funding dedicated to science produces, what problems we are working with and what the consequences are.
See the Eva Cunha's profile on the UiO website.
GPS is a project of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation with the Ciência Viva agency and the University of Aveiro.
Author GPS/Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation
Science in the Regional Press – Ciência Viva
Comments