Diana Goncalves Schmidt

The Goncalves Schmidt Lab is an intra- and multidisciplinary research group that integrates peptide synthesis, organic chemistry, materials chemistry, photochemistry, and DNA nanotechnology for the development of molecular and biomolecular platforms, to address complex challenges at the interface of chemistry, biology, and materials science.

One of our ongoing projects consists of developing DNA origami-based molecular barcodes that enable multiplexed protein detection and spatial mapping in tissue cryosections. These nanostructures are engineered to be identifiable by electron microscopy (EM) through the precise arrangement of gold nanoparticles on their surfaces. The spatial organization of these nanoparticles generates unique patterns, with each pattern corresponding to a specific protein target. The combination of the programmability of DNA architectures with the high spatial resolution of EM, provides a powerful platform for spatial proteomics and the visualization of molecular interactions within biological tissues at the nanoscale.

We are also specialized in solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) and in the development of efficient synthetic strategies that incorporate principles of green chemistry to minimize solvent consumption, reduce waste generation, and improve process sustainability while maintaining high crude peptide purity. Our expertise includes the synthesis of complex peptides containing non-canonical and chemically modified amino acids, as well as the site-specific incorporation of orthogonal functional groups that enable selective bioconjugation, labeling, and crosslinking, for the development of functional biomaterials, molecular probes and bioresponsive systems. Our laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation, including an automated microwave assisted peptide synthesizer and a dedicated standalone microwave reactor. These systems enable the rapid synthesis of high-quality peptides and support a broad range of chemical transformations, including amino acid modification, peptide functionalization, and organic synthesis.

We are also interested in understanding the dynamic interactions between glioblastoma cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM), and how the biochemical and biophysical properties of the tumor microenvironments regulate disease progression. In particular, we investigate how variations of the ECM mechanical properties, such as stiffness, viscoelasticity, and matrix architecture, influence cellular behaviors including migration, invasion, proliferation, and the formation of tumor spheroids. To address these questions, we develop and employ tunable biomaterial platforms that recapitulate key features of the brain tumor microenvironment. These engineered systems allow us to systematically examine how glioblastoma cells sense and respond to mechanical cues and how these interactions contribute to tumor heterogeneity, invasiveness, and therapeutic resistance, with the end goal to identify new strategies for disrupting tumor progression.