Biography
I have completed the MEng in Biomedical Engineering in 2009 at Universidade do Minho (Portugal) and the PhD in Biomedical Engineering in 2013 at the same university. My major focus is in the area of Biomechanics and I currently combine research and lecturing duties, being Research Fellow (Investigador Integrado) at IDMEC - Instituto Superior Técnico - Universidade de Lisboa (since 2017) and Lecturer (Professor Adjunto) at Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal (since 2018). My international research experience includes a post-doctoral period at INSIGNEO - University of Sheffield (United Kingdom), between 2014 and 2017, and 2 research visits to Eindhoven University of Technology during the completion of my PhD degree (in 2011 and 2013, respectively).
My research outputs include 28 peer-reviewed papers (publishing name: A. P. G. Castro). These represent a total of 681 citations according to Scopus, for an h-index of 14. Book chapters (as first author) are in the number of 3, and I have also participated as co-editor of 1 book and guest editor of 2 special issues in peer-reviewed journals. I am/was (co-)supervisor of several bachelor and master students, research assistants and 5 PhD students. Lecturing-wise, I am currently the module leader of 8 curricular units, having been module leader for 3 other curricular units in previous years, in the areas of Mechanical, Biomedical and Materials Engineering. I am currently the coordinator for the Biomedical Technology bachelor degree at Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal (since 09/2024), after completing one term (03/2023 to 08/2024) as the coordinator of the Mechanical Engineering bachelor degree.
I have received the first prize on the prestigious Prémio Jovem Investigador Prof. João Martins em Mecânica Aplicada e Computacional 2023, following up to 2 honor mentions in national awards. I am very active in the research community, being member of the European Society of Biomechanics, where I participate in multiple activities, from the mentoring programme to the jury for the annual best PhD awards. I have been involved in the organisation of several scientific and outreaching events, along with being (co-)organiser of special sessions in international conferences, with the highlight of being the chair of the XI Congresso Nacional de Biomecânica, the major event in Biomechanics in Portugal. I am also the Vice-President for Sociedade Portuguesa de Biomecânica, since 06/2023. My major keywords are: finite element modelling, intervertebral disc, constitutive modelling, biomechanics, tissue engineering and computational mechanics.