Joana Pinto BSc MSc PhD

Dr Joana Pinto obtained her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Lisbon in 2019.

In January 2020, Joana joined Professor Daniel Bulte’s group as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Biomedical Engineering, and in 2023, she was promoted to Senior Research Associate.

Her research focuses on the development and application of non-invasive neuroimaging techniques to identify biomarkers of cerebrovascular disease.

Joana is also the principal investigator of The Maternal Brain Project, a research project that aims to understand the short and long-term impact of pregnancy on the mother’s brain using advanced imaging techniques. In addition, she founded the Women’s Health Book Club (2024–present); please contact her if you would like to be added to the club’s mailing list.

She was a Junior Research Fellow at Kellogg College (2021-2024) and is currently a Research Associate at St Peter’s College (2024–present).

Dr Joana Pinto’s research interests include women’s health and the evaluation of cerebrovascular dynamics using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), integrating multiple physiological parameters such as cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR).

The Eye-Brain Project (as researcher) (Funder: EPSRC)

The Maternal Brain Project (as PI) (Funders: ARUK Thames Valley, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, John Fell Fund)

Joana has been awarded the Early Career Fellowship from the European Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology (2021), the Junior Fellowship from the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (2023), and the Premio Príncipe da Beira (2023), which recognises the most promising biomedical research plan from a biomedical researcher based in or from Portugal.