Magda Teles

email:mteles(at)ispa.pt

Short Bio
Dr.Magda Teles graduated from Universidade Lusófona, Lisbon, with a first degree in Biology (2006). After,she did a Master in Psychobiology at ISPA-Instituto Universitário (2010),and a Ph.D. in Biology, area of specialization Ethology, atthe University of Lisbon (2015). In 2016 she was a postdoctoral fellow in a funded project by the Fundação para a Ciênciae Tecnologia (FCT)at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), and in 2017 she got a competitive individual Postdoctoral Fellowship, being first ranked in the Biological Sciences panel (score 4.88 out of 5).In 2018, Dr.Magda Teles acquired competitivefunding (FCT),as the responsible investigator,to examine the Early life influence of social environment on adult social competence: developmental and transgenerational effects on zebrafish (2018-2022). During her scientific carrier, she developed significant qualifications in the fields of Animal Behaviour, Neuroethology, Neurosciences, Transcriptomics and Endocrinology, together with high-level proficiency in a wide array of techniques and methodsused in those areas of research. Dr.Magda Teles has published 20 articles in peer-reviewed international journals and a book chapter. Herwork was cited 497 times and has an h-index of 12 (Web of Science). Out of those publications, 10 are in top 10% journals, 19 in Q1 of their specific fields and 1 in Q2 (Scimago, JCR). She has experience in teaching Neurosciences, Animal Behaviour and Research Methods courses to Psychology undergraduate and Master students at ISPA,and she is also involved, as an assistant professor, in advanced Neuroscience and Behaviour topics in the Gulbenkian Ph.D. Programmes. Dr.Magda Teles has so far supervised 4 Master’sstudents, and she is a peer reviewer in international indexed journals in her areaof specialization. DrMagda Teles is also engaged in science communication and participated in multiple public outreach activities in the IGC.

Research Interests
I’m interested in the socially driven changes that occur at neural and behavioral levels in response to social interactions, and I’m using zebrafish as a model species.

Publications

Articles:

Akinrinade, I., Kareklas, K., Teles, M.C., Reis, T.K., Gliksberg, M., Petri, G., Levkowitz, G. and Oliveira, R.F., 2023. Evolutionarily conserved role of oxytocin in social fear contagion in zebrafish. Science, 379(6638), pp.1232-1237.
Teles, M.C., Faustino, F., Chanfana, C., Cunha, A., Esteves, M. and Oliveira, R.F., 2023. Social Enhancement of Adult Neurogenesis in Zebrafish is Not Regulated by Cortisol. Neuroscience, 509, pp.51-62.
Gonçalves, C., Kareklas, K., Teles, M.C., Varela, S.A., Costa, J., Leite, R.B., Paixão, T. and Oliveira, R.F., 2022. Phenotypic architecture of sociality and its associated genetic polymorphisms in zebrafish. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 21(5), p.e12809.
Dunlap, K.D., Teles, M.C. and Oliveira, R.F., 2021. Social stimuli increase activity of adult-born cells in the telencephalon of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Journal of Experimental Biology, 224(16), p.jeb242253.
Antunes, D.F., Teles, M.C., Zuelling, M., Friesen, C.N., Oliveira, R.F., Aubin‐Horth, N. and Taborsky, B., 2021. Early social deprivation shapes neuronal programming of the social decision‐making network in a cooperatively breeding fish. Molecular Ecology, 30(16), pp.4118-4132.
Nunes, A.R., Gliksberg, M., Varela, S.A., Teles, M., Wircer, E., Blechman, J., Petri, G., Levkowitz, G. and Oliveira, R.F., 2021. Developmental effects of oxytocin neurons on social affiliation and processing of social information. Journal of Neuroscience, 41(42), pp.8742-8760.

Triki, Z., Emery, Y., Teles, M.C., Oliveira, R.F. and Bshary, R., 2020. Brain morphology predicts social intelligence in wild cleaner fish. Nature Communications, 11(1), p.6423.

Ribeiro, D., Nunes, A. R., Teles, M., Anbalagan, S., Blechman, J., Levkowitz, G., & Oliveira, R. F. (2020). Genetic variation in the social environment affects behavioral phenotypes of oxytocin receptor mutants in zebrafish. Elife, 9, e56973.

Varela, S.A., Teles, M.C. and Oliveira, R.F., 2020. The correlated evolution of social competence and social cognition. Functional Ecology, 34(2), pp.332-343.

Teles, M.C., Gozdowska, M., Kalamarz-Kubiak, H., Kulczykowska, E., Oliveira, R.F. 2016. Agonistic interactions elicit rapid changes in brain nonapeptide levels in zebrafish. Hormones and Behavior 84: 57–63.

Teles, M.C., Cardoso, S.D. and Oliveira, R.F. 2016. Social plasticity relies on different neuroplasticity mechanisms across the Brain Social Decision-Making Network in Zebrafish. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 10.

Oliveira, R.F., Simoes, J.M., Teles, M.C., Oliveira, C.R., Becker, J.D. and Lopes, J.S. 2016. Assessment of fight outcome is needed to activate socially driven transcriptional changes in the zebrafish brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113: E654-661.

Teles, M.C. & Oliveira, R.F. 2016. Androgen response to social competition in a shoaling fish. Hormones and Behavior 78: 8–12.

Cardoso, S. D., Teles, M. C., & Oliveira, R. F. (2015). Neurogenomic mechanisms of social plasticity. The Journal of Experimentral Biology, 218(Pt 1), 140-149.

Teles, M.C., Almeida, O., Lopes, J.S. and Oliveira, R.F. 2015. Social interactions elicit rapid shifts in functional connectivity in the social decision-making network of zebrafish. Proceedings Royal Society B 282: 20151099.

Gonçalves, D., Costa, S. S., Teles, M. C., Silva, H., Inglês, M., Rui, F., & Gonc, D. (2014). Oestradiol and prostaglandin F2 α regulate sexual displays in females of a sex-role reversed fish. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 281, 20133070 .

Teles, M. C., Dahlbom, S. J., Winberg, S., & Oliveira, R. F. (2013). Social modulation of brainmonoamine levels in zebrafish. Behavioural Brain Research, 253, 17–24.

Teles, M. C., Sîrbulescu, R. F., Wellbrock, U. M., Oliveira, R. F., & Zupanc, G. K. H. (2012). Adult neurogenesis in the brain of the Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus. Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, 198(6), 427–49.

Simões, J. M., Teles, M. C., Oliveira, R. F., Van der Linden, A., & Verhoye, M. (2012).A three-dimensional stereotaxic MRI brain atlas of the cichlid fish Oreochromis mossambicus. PloS One, 7(9), e44086.

Gonçalves, D., Saraiva, J., Teles, M., Teodósio, R., Canário, A. V. M., & Oliveira, R. F. (2010). Brain aromatase mRNA expression in two populations of the peacock blenny Salaria pavo with divergent mating systems. Hormones and Behavior, 57(2), 155–161.

Gonçalves, D., Teles, M., Alpedrinha, J., & Oliveira, R. F. (2008). Brain and gonadal aromatase activity and steroid hormone levels in female and polymorphic males of the peacock blenny Salaria pavo. Hormones and Behavior, 54(5), 717–725.

Gonçalves, D., Alpedrinha, J., Teles, M., & Oliveira, R. F. (2007). Endocrine control of sexualbehavior in sneaker males of the peacock blenny Salaria pavo: effects of castration, aromatase inhibition, testosterone and estradiol. Hormones and Behavior, 51(3), 246–258.