Main Achievements

Throughout my scientific career, I have made several contributions to the field of malaria research, as well as to science outreach. Among these achievements, I have:

• Pioneered the development of a novel strategy for whole-sporozoite vaccination against malaria. With the initial funding of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, I established the pre-clinical proof-of-concept of the use of transgenic rodent berghei parasites as platforms for immunization against human malaria (DOI: 10.1038/s41541-018-0068-2). With funding from PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, I led the clinical evaluation of PbVac, the first of this novel class of vaccine candidates, in a first-in-human Phase I/IIa trial (DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aay2578) that demonstrated its safety, immunogenicity and strong biological effect. Since then, additional candidates have been generated and pre-clinically evaluated with the support of the “la Caixa” Foundation, including PbViVac, the first P. berghei-based surrogate for whole-sporozoite immunization against P. vivax malaria (DOI: 10.1038/s41541-022-00585-8).
• Investigated the immunological features elicited by the liver stage of Plasmodium infection (DOI: 10.1038/nm.3424; DOI: 10.1128/IAI.02796-14), and those that underlie the protective efficacy of pre-erythrocytic antimalarial vaccines, providing the first comparative assessment of the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of four approaches to whole-organism malaria immunization (DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.11.023; DOI: 10.1038/s41541-023-00778-9).
• Assessed the reciprocal impact of co-infection between Plasmodium parasites and other infectious agents that prevail in malaria-endemic regions, showing that Trypanosoma brucei infection confers protection against malaria in rodent models of co-infection (DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat), an effect that is mediated by protein excreted by the former parasite (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009912). I subsequently led the work that demonstrated that infection by SARS-CoV-2 decreases malaria severity in co-infected rodent models (DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1307553).
• Established new methods to investigate different stages of infection by malaria parasites, employing transgenic Plasmodium lines expressing suitable reporters to (i) quantify hepatic cell invasion and intrahepatocytic parasite development by flow cytometry (DOI: 10.1111/j.1462-5822.2007.01032.x), (ii) quantifying hepatic infection by Plasmodium parasites in vitro and in vivo by bioluminescence (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007881), and (iii) in vitro screening of Plasmodium transmission-blocking compounds by bioluminescence (DOI: 10.1128/AAC.02699-16). I further established a new 3D hepatic cell platform for drug screening against the liver stage of Plasmodium infection (DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.9b00144).
• Played an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic, not only through the establishment of iMM’s SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostics Task Force, but also through my participation in various institutional initiatives aimed at raising public awareness about COVID-19 vaccination, including webinars, videoclips and online materials. In addition, I had over 500 presences in the media, communicating scientifically reliable information and combatting disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and other pandemic-related issues.

I firmly believe that the role of a scientist is not only to generate new knowledge, but also to foster the transfer of that knowledge and the training of younger scientists. I have therefore actively participated in numerous undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate courses. As Professor at the Fac. Medicina Univ. Lisboa, I have lectured in the context of this Faculty’s Integrated Master’s in Medicine, Master’s in Biomedical Research, and the LisbonBioMed PhD program. I also regularly lecture in several Master’s and PhD courses at various Universities throughout the country. My commitment to science communication further includes reaching out to younger and non-specialized audiences. As such, I have delivered classes to students from 5 to 18 years old, seeking to raise their awareness about science and engage them in hands-on scientific activities, and I have participated in multiple science outreach actions, such as TEDx talks, ‘Science Café’, ‘Cartas com Ciência’ and ‘Pint of Science’, as well as in various institutional Open Days, Science Fairs, European Researchers Nights and other similar events.

As an independent Group Leader, I have supervised 8 post-doctoral researchers, 7 PhD students, 23 Master’s students, 10 research assistants and multiple interns. In addition to these, I currently head a team of 4 post-doctoral researchers, 2 PhD students, 2 Master’s students, 2 research assistants and 3 interns. I continuously foster the scientific independence of the more senior members of my laboratory, and the close mentoring of the less experienced ones, towards building a team that is both cohesive and scientifically proactive. Aiming to maintain a diverse and international environment, over the years my laboratory has hosted researchers from Angola, Belgium, Brazil, Cape Verde, Czechia, Ecuador, India, Germany, Mozambique, Pakistan, Portugal, Serbia and Spain. When appropriate, I strive to engage team members in collective decision making, towards raising their awareness of science management matters and enhancing their leadership capacity.

I am genuinely convinced that scientists have a duty to contribute to the scientific structure as a whole, beyond the confines of their own laboratories, which includes performing tasks that ensure the regular functioning of the scientific system. Thus, I regularly act as ad-hoc reviewer for multiple scientific journals published by major science publishers, such as Nature Publishing Group, Cell Press, Elsevier, Wiley, EMBO Press, PLoS, Life Science Alliance and eLife Sciences Publications. I have also participated in scientific evaluation and consultancy processes for numerous public science funding and public health agencies, including FCT (PT), European Research Council (EU), National Institutes of Health (USA), Medical Research Council (UK), Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (FR), Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (CH) and the National Health Directorate (PT), as well for various national and international institutions, such as the Everis Foundation Innovation Award (ES), the Sociedade de Ciências Médicas de Lisboa/Pfizer Award (PT), the AstraZeneca Innovate Competition (PT), the Baillet Latour Medical Award (BE) and the Product Development Partnerships Fund (NL). I have further served as a consultant for Pfizer Inc. (USA), the Envision Pharma Group (NL), and the J.E. Dias Costa law firm (PT).