Joaquim Reis
Contacts
E-mail: jdcreis[at]ciencias.ulisboa.pt
Professional networks
Curriculum
Research topics
- Psycho-Oncology
- Social Adversity
- Neuroendocrine and immune pathways of emotional distress
- eHealth
- mHealth
Biography
Joaquim Reis, PhD, Psychologist, has been investigating the neuroendocrine and immune changes that mediate the effects of psychosocial distress on health effects in cancer patients. Chronic and severe distress has impact on well-being and quality of life and on cancer progression through the dysregulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA)-axis and activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), impacting the cardio-vascular, immune, and endocrine systems and brain structure and function. These alterations contribute to biological activities (e.g., changing in circadian cortisol levels, catecholamine production, activation of proinflammatory cytokines, regulation of leucocyte and tumor cell gene expression and cellular immune suppression) that can promote cancer growth and metastasis. Although negative affect has been associated with metabolic abnormality in some brain regions in non-cancer patients, little is known about the brain networks, regions or circuits that can contribute to individual differences in distress states and health outcomes in treated cancer patients.
The main questions that underlie his research are:
• How do changes in affect (and other psychosocial experiences such as social well-being) are translated in neural signaling pathways that can modulate peripheral immune cells and cancer cells in ways that could influence cancer disease course?
• What type of integrative research strategies can we develop to increase the knowledge about the brain mediated mechanisms of distress and health effects in cancer patients?
He has also been researching the application of information technology and artificial intelligence in the assessment and intervention with cancer patients in the framework of a European project (Horizon 2020 – ONCORELIEF: A digital guardian angel enhancing cancer patient’s wellbeing and health status improvement following treatment). The main objective of this study was the development of a user-centered artificial intelligence system and a smartphone App to facilitate the input and integration of patient-related biopsychosocial data to improve post-treatment quality of life, well-being, and health outcomes and to examine the feasibility of this digitally assisted workflow in a real-world setting in patients with colorectal cancer and acute myeloid leukemia.
Publications
Journal publications
(2023) A hybrid artificial intelligence solution approach to aftercare for cancer patients, Neural Computing and Applications 35(29), p. 21381-21397, url, doi:10.1007/s00521-023-08765-w
(2022) Low social and family well-being is associated with greater RAGE ligand s100A8/A9 and interleukin-1 beta levels in metastatic breast cancer patients, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity - Health 21, p. 100433, Elsevier Inc., url, doi:10.1016/j.bbih.2022.100433
(2020) Negative affect and stress-related brain metabolism in patients with metastatic breast cancer, Cancer 126(13), p. 3122-3131, pubmed, doi:10.1002/cncr.32902
(2020) Emotional distress, brain functioning, and biobehavioral processes in cancer patients: A neuroimaging review and future directions, CNS Spectrums 25(1), p. 79-100, url, doi:10.1017/S1092852918001621
(2019) Psychological Adversity, Self-Management Skills and Stress-Related Neuroendocrine Activity in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients, Journal of Psychosocial Oncology 1-1S(71)
(2019) Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine October 12 – 16, 2019 Barcelona, Spain, European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 46(S1), p. 1-952, url, doi:10.1007/s00259-019-04486-2
Conference publications
(2022) What Are The Biobehavioral Processes Related With Distress That May Have Implications On The Clinical Outcomes Of Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients? Main Conclusions Of The Distressbrain Project, IPOS 2022 abstract booklet Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice, p. 82-83
(2022) A digital guardian angel app based on a patient- centered AI system to enhancing cancer patient’s wellbeing and health status improvement following treatment., Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice, Wolters Kluwer Health Inc.
(2022) Development of a composite index of quality of life and well-being (QoL/WB) for cancer patients and survivors in the context of the ONCORELIEF project., Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice, p. 72
(2021) ONCORELIEF: a H2020 project supporting the development of an App and AI system for assisting cancer patients? improvement of wellbeing and quality of life, Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research & Practice, p. 54
(2021) Emotional Distress, Brain Functioning, Social Well-Being and Biobehavioral Processes in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients: Outcomes of the Distressbrain Project, The Breast 59, p. S55-S56, doi:10.1016/s0960-9776(21)00564-6
(2019) Emotional Distress and Brain Functioning Metabolism in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients: a Neuro-Imaging Study With 18F-Fdg Pet/Ct, The Breast 48, p. S64, doi:10.1016/s0960-9776(19)30722-2
(2019) Self-Management Skills As Predictors of Positive Affect and Social Well-Being in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients, The Breast 48, p. S63-S64, doi:10.1016/s0960-9776(19)30721-0
(2018) Prevalence of Psychological Distress, Anxiety and Depression in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients, Journal of Global Oncology 4(Supplement 2), p. 224s-224s, url, doi:10.1200/jgo.18.90800
Book chapters
(2022) Digitally Assisted Planning and Monitoring of Supportive Recommendations in Cancer Patients, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology 652 IFIP, p. 401-411, url, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-08341-9_32
(2020) The Use of Consumer Neuroscience Knowledge in Improving Real Promotional Media: The Case of Worten, Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies 167, p. 202-218, url, doi:10.1007/978-981-15-1564-4_20