Hello! I’m João Correia, co-founder and head of cheminformatics development at OmniumAI, and an invited assistant professor at the Catholic University of Portugal in Braga. I hold a Ph.D. in Informatics from the University of Minho (2024), a Master’s in Bioinformatics from the same institution (2018), and a Bachelor’s in Bioengineering from the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (2016). My research is focused on developing artificial intelligence methods for analyzing chemical data.
StartUp Co-Founder
In June 2021, I co-founded a startup named OmniumAI which is a spin-off of the University of Minho created from the Centre of Biological Engineering. OmniumAI is focused on developing AI solutions for the life sciences, particularly in the areas of chemoinformatics and bioinformatics.
Professional Experience
Teaching in Higher Education
- Invited Assistant Professor at the Catholic University of Portugal in Braga (12/2024 - Present)
- Invited Assistant at Catholic University of Portugal in Braga (02/2024 - 12/2024)
- Invited Assistant at University of Minho (09/2023 - 03/2024)
Research Positions
- Visiting Researcher at EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany (10/2022 - 11/2022)
- Research Fellow at the Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho (02/2019 - 01/2020)
- Research Collaborator at BISBI Group, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho (02/2019 - 12/2024)
- Research Collaborator at EvoBiomed Group, Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), University of Minho (09/2017 - 12/2018)
Appointments
- Member of the Coordination Committee for the B.Sc. in Applied Data Science - Catholic University of Portugal in Braga (03/2025 - Present)
Industry Experience
- Head of Cheminformatics Development at OmniumAI (05/2024 - Present)
- Collaborator at OmniumAI (06/2021 - 05/2024)
Education
- Ph.D. in Informatics, University of Minho (2020-2024)
- Thesis Title: DeepRetro: a computational framework for retrosythesis and pathway design towards optimizing compound bioproduction
- Field of Study: Artificial Intelligence, Cheminformatics, Bioinformatics
- Grade: Unanimously Approved with “Very Good” (highest classification)
- Supervisors:
- Prof. Dr. Miguel Rocha, University of Minho
- Dr. Vítor Pereira, University of Minho
- Dr. Rafael Carreira, SilicoLife
- Jury Members:
- Prof. Dr. Sara Madeira, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon
- Prof. Dr. Pablo Carbonell, Universitat Politècnica de València
- Dr. Óscar Dias, University of Minho
- Thesis Title: DeepRetro: a computational framework for retrosythesis and pathway design towards optimizing compound bioproduction
- Master’s in Bioinformatics, University of Minho (2016-2018)
- Grade: 18/20
- Thesis Title: HIV-TB-Host protein interaction network
- Field of Study: Bioinformatics, Systems Biology
- Grade: 19/20
- Bachelor’s in Bioengineering, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (2013-2016)
- Grade: 15/20