From biochemist to CEO, Mónica leads Cryostaminal with vision and closeness, transforming stem cell science into new perspectives for thousands of families. His trajectory shows that resilience and purpose can change the future of health.
1. Mónica, can you start by telling us a little about yourself and your academic career?
Monica: I am a Biochemist by training and graduated from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra. Biochemistry gives us access to a wide range of very diversified professional options. And I was always interested in the clinical area and in the treatment of diseases, rather than in basic research, so I initially followed the area of Clinical Analysis.
I started working in this area shortly after completing my course and during this phase, I also did a postgraduate degree in Clinical Analysis and Public Health at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Coimbra to deepen my theoretical knowledge.
2. And how did your connection to Cryostaminal come about?
Monica: My connection to Cryostaminal appeared when I was still doing my graduate degree. The company had been in the market for about 3 years, with a solid and consistent activity and it was around 2006, when in contact with some former colleagues from the Biochemistry course, who were the founders of Cryostaminal, that the invitation appeared.
I accepted the same and had the opportunity to join the team that was launching the umbilical cord blood cryopreservation laboratory in Portugal.
This was a new area in Portugal and it was also very different from what I had done before, but at the same time, it had all the connection to the clinical part, the treatment part and the diseases part, which was all that aligned with my purpose.
3. What was your initial role in the company?
Monica: I started out as a senior laboratory technician, working both on analysis and on cryopreservation. Since we were a small team, we all did a little bit of everything. This allowed me to learn more about the operations and development of the laboratory in Portugal.
4. And how was your progression within the company?
Monica: After two years, I stopped being a senior laboratory technician and became responsible for the cryopreservation team.
And while I was exercising this function, I had the opportunity to carry out some training in the area of management, such as entrepreneurship and innovation programs and, later, already in 2015, an MBA in Business Management.
In parallel and at this time, already as director of operations, where I had a wider spectrum of responsibility and activity in the company, I took up the launch of the Cryostaminal activity in Switzerland, which gave me a very valuable practical experience in international management.
5. When did you become CEO?
Monica: Before becoming CEO and after some natural changes that occurred at the company's management level, I was invited, as Chief Operating Officer, to join the Board of Directors.
More recently, in 2022, after the former CEO, who was also one of the company's founders, left office, I was invited to assume the position I still have today.
I consider that this path was natural, it was not properly thought out or programmed, but rather it was a set of opportunities that were emerging and that were adapted to my career in the company and to my personal and professional growth.
And without a doubt, this was the most defining moment of my career so far.
6. And what are the biggest challenges of being CEO in an area as sensitive as Cryopreservation?
Monica: There are several challenges, in addition to the leadership of teams, where it is very important to keep them motivated and focused on what our objectives are.
This area can diverge in several directions and we have to maintain a very strong focus, as it is a very sensitive area, where the communication we make implies taking enormous care with the information we are transmitting.
It is essential to always be aware and aware of everything that is happening, not only to transmit information in the best way, but also to be able to continue to innovate, to evolve and to respond to the needs of families and health professionals.
In my opinion and despite the fact that we have specialists in all the areas mentioned above, I believe that a CEO must monitor, understand and be aware of what is being developed. We must stay informed, continue to study and learn.
7. How would you describe your leadership style?
Monica: I like to be available and to be unblocker.
In other words, I always try to be there for the company's employees, to listen to them when they need them, to support them when obstacles arise, and to ensure that the teams move forward without obstacles. I believe that closeness and example are fundamental.
8. How many people currently work at Criostaminal? And what do you value most in a work team?
Monica: We currently have around 60 employees.
In relation to a work team, what I value most is transparency, collaboration and team spirit, which are fundamental to achieving collective results.
9. In addition to work, how do you balance your personal and professional life?
Monica: It's essential to maintain balance. I have two children, two boys, aged 11 and 16 and a very active family life. We like horseback riding, hiking, being with our pets and being in contact with nature.
I also value my moments of introspection and reading, which help me maintain mental clarity and balance.
I try to separate work and personal moments whenever possible, and I also give the example within the company, showing that it is important to switch off to recharge energies.
10. What legacy would you like to leave in the company and in the health sector in Portugal?
Monica: I have two things that I would like to get close to achieving.
On the one hand, I would like to ensure that the company works autonomously and in an integrated way, so that the top leadership position is hardly necessary or visible, in the sense that the teams are so collaborative and aligned with the purpose and objectives of the company, that it makes everything flow naturally. In other words, I would like to leave the team prepared and mature enough for this to be possible to happen.
On the other hand, I would like it if in Portugal we could have at least one treatment with stem cells, other than what is a standard treatment performed in the areas of hematology/hemato-oncology in IPOs. There are many other innovative treatments that are already being developed and implemented in other countries and I would like us to be able to reach the stage of having these treatments in our country, even if in an experimental way in the context of clinical trials or hospital exemption mechanisms.
11. What advice would you give to young scientists, especially women who want to pursue a leadership career in Biotechnology?
Monica: I would say to always be attentive, awake and available to learn, either with the circumstances surrounding them or with the other people with whom they work.
That they are resilient and that they are not afraid to take unexpected paths. The journey is not linear, but it is rewarding.
In short, I would say that focus, resilience, and openness to learning are fundamental.
12. Now focusing more on the company, we would like to know what is the central mission of Cryostaminal?
Monica: Our mission goes beyond the storage of stem cells, of being just a cryopreservation bank.
The company's focus has always been on storing cells, but also working on research and mobilizing the necessary means so that more therapies can be available, naturally based on the stem cells that are our focus, but eventually even with other types of sources, other than cord blood.
In other words, our mission is to provide access to innovative therapies, helping to transform the lives of patients and their families. And to this end, we also work in collaboration with health professionals to ensure that these therapies are increasingly accessible.
13. Can you explain to us in a simple way what stem cells are and why are they so special?
Monica: Stem cells, the mother cells of our body, are capable of giving rise to new cells and regulating the immune system.
This immunomodulatory capacity is particularly important in autoimmune and neurological diseases, helping to improve symptoms and patients' quality of life.
14. In what diseases are stem cells already used today?
Monica: Stem cells, which are found in various tissues, namely bone marrow and umbilical cord blood, have been widely used in standard therapies, namely in the area of hemato-oncology, metabolic diseases, anemia, and essentially blood diseases.
But with the advancement of science, it has mainly resulted in the use of umbilical cord blood for other areas of medicine, namely neurological diseases. Whether in childhood, in diseases such as autism, cerebral palsy, deafness; or in adulthood, in diseases such as Alzheimer's, heart disease or autoimmune diseases.
It has been realized that these cells, not only those of the umbilical cord, but also those of the umbilical cord tissue and the placental tissue, have such an interesting immunomodulatory capacity, that in some clinical studies they demonstrate a capacity to regresse the disease in such a way that the need for complementary therapy is very low.
15. Do umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord tissue have different functions?
Monica: Exactly, umbilical cord blood is mainly rich in hematopoietic stem cells, used primarily in blood diseases.
Umbilical cord tissue, on the other hand, has no hematopoietic stem cells, but it does have mesenchymal stem cells, which are useful in autoimmune and neurological diseases. In some cases, umbilical cord tissue cells can also help minimize rejection in hematopoietic transplants.
16. In a very succinct way, can you explain to us how the cryopreservation process works?
Monica: Parents who express an interest in keeping stem cells move on to a process, which we call the adhesion process, where an initial fee is paid to have access to the service and receive a collection kit, together with all the documentation and the questionnaire to evaluate the clinical and family history.
Then the parents take the maternity kit with them and another questionnaire is taken at the time of delivery to find out if there have been any clinical changes in the health of the mother and the newborn. At delivery, the cells are collected after the umbilical cord is cut, sent to the laboratory, processed and frozen.
Subsequently, quality control takes place, where a series of tests and analyses are carried out and after their validation, the cells that meet the quality requirements are cryopreserved for the contracted period.
17. Is there a time limit for preserving stem cells?
Monica: Currently, there are published data from samples stored about 30 years ago, which maintain their cell viability and characteristics
And there is no scientific reason why they should last less, but we are adjusting the contracts and their duration according to scientific evolution and the age of majority of the child.
18. Finally, we would like you to leave a message for those who are reading this interview.
Monica: Don't give up at the first difficulties. The path to achieving objectives, whether personal or professional, is not linear, there are many challenges, setbacks, changes of direction, and it is important to have this awareness and to know how to identify these moments in order to better overcome them. With dedication, resilience, focus and above all personal balance, good things happen.
