PARTNERS

Pedro Pedrosa (Head of Innovation)

Pedro Pedrosa is the Head of the Innovation Office at ITQB NOVA, specializing in innovation management and technology transfer. He leads initiatives that support intellectual property, Proof-of-Concept funding, and industry partnerships, helping to transform scientific research into impactful solutions.

Previously, he was an Innovation Manager at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência in Lisbon and a postdoctoral researcher at NOVA Medical School, where he developed molecular diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2. He helped found NANO4 Global a University spin-off, establishing the R&D lab and supporting CE-IVD certification.

Pedro holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biosciences from NOVA University of Lisbon, as well as an M.Sc. in Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine and a B.Sc. in Biology. His expertise includes innovation strategy, intellectual property, and leadership.

He plays a key role in the DxHub project, coordinating the Portuguese ecosystem for the creation of a Center of Excellence to promote innovative solutions for the detection of infectious diseases.

Hélia Sales (Innovation Project Manager)

Hélia Sales is an innovation project manager at ITQB NOVA Innovation Office, specializing in biotechnology and plant sciences. She plays a key role in managing innovation projects and supporting technology transfer initiatives. Additionally, her responsibilities involve organizing events, consortium meetings, and stakeholder engagements. Her expertise extends to the conceptualization and development of project applications for competitive funding, particularly targeting national and European programs.

She holds a B.Sc. in Biology, an M.Sc. in Biodiversity and Plant Biotechnology both from University of Coimbra and a Ph.D. in Plant Sciences from NOVA University of Lisbon.

In the DxHub project, Hélia supports the coordination of the Portuguese ecosystem, managing project execution and ensuring the accomplishment of its main goals.

Ana Paula Arez (Principal Researcher)

Ana Paula Arez is Principal Investigator (with Habilitation) at the Medical Parasitology Unit of Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT) and at Global Health and Tropical Medicine Center (GHTM) of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (UNL). She holds a PhD in Biology (2000) and a BSc in Biology (1992) by the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon.

She teaches at Biomedical Sciences, Parasitology and Global Health PhD and MSc courses of IHMT NOVA and supervises or co-supervises Post-docs, PhD and MSc students. She conducts expert review of scientific papers and projects in national and international journal and funding agencies on regular basis.

Presently at IHMT, she is Leader of the GHTM’s Research Group Vector Borne Diseases, Facilitator of the GHTM’s Cross Cutting Issue Diagnostics, Coordinator of the GHTM biobank – Biotropical Resources (BIOTROP) and member of the IHMT’s Scientific Council.

Isabel L. Maurício (Assistant Professor)

Isabel L. Maurício is Assistant Professor of Medical Parasitology, at the Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, NOVA University Lisbon (IHMT / UNL), since 2010, until then she was a Lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), University of London, UK. She has a degree in Biology from the University of Lisbon, Faculty of Sciences, Portugal, and a PhD in Infectious and Tropical Diseases from the LSHTM.

Isabel teaches in the areas of Medical Helminthology and Parasitology, as well as Molecular Epidemiology, and she currently coordinates 5 Study Units in MSc and PhD courses. She coordinated the PhD in Human Genetics and Infectious Diseases at IHMT/UNL (2015-18), which she developed with two colleagues, and was deputy Course Director of Distance Learning MSc Infectious Diseases at LSHTM. Isabel has supervised several post-graduate students (completed: 1 post-doctoral, 3 PhD and 13 MSc) and currently supervises 2 PhD students and 8 MSc students, having been jury member for five post-graduate theses.

Isabel has coordinated two projects and has participated, including as co-coordinator, in several research projects, funded by the European Commission, Wellcome Trust and FCT, as well as the Elsevier Foundation and the Gulbenkian Foundation. Since 2021 she has been a Section Editor for Gene (Elsevier), and she is an Editor in other journals, with extensive reviewer activity for publications and research projects.

Isabel is also interested in broader topics related to academia and research. She leads a network of Portuguese-speaking women scientists in African countries. She is a member of the NOVA Academic Council NOVA for The Globe (https://sustainability.unl.pt/), as well as a member of the working group “Collaborative network in Socio-Territorial Innovation” (InovST) (https://www.unl.pt/en/inovacao/inovacao-socioterritorial/).

Sofia Seabra (Assistant Researcher)

Sofia G. Seabra completed a PhD in Biology (Evolutionary Biology) from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon (FCUL) in 2007. Since April 2020 she has an institutional CEEC contract (https://doi.org/10.54499/CEECINST/00102/2018/CP1567/CT0040) as Assistant Researcher at the Global Public Health Teaching and Research Unit of Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at NOVA University of Lisbon (IHMT-NOVA).

She was Principal Investigator in the internally GHTM funded project ‘WasteWaterVir – Integrating metavirome analysis of wastewaters into tools for surveillance of infectious diseases’ and is a team member in the ongoing We’Search program (FCG/La Caixa) funded project “Airway colonization and microbiome in relation to asthma and atopy in children from Cabo Verde- RESPIRA-CV”, in the ongoing FCT project “Minimizing the emergence and dissemination of HIV-1 drug resistance in PALOPs through an evidence-based portable high-throughput sequencing and computational approach” and on the Horizon European Project “EuCARE: European Cohorts of Patients and Schools to Advance Response to Epidemics”.

She supervised several post-graduate students and participated in evaluation committees in PhD and Master theses. She teaches Biostatistics in the IHMT Doctoral Programs ‘International Health’, Molecular Epidemiology in the NOVA Masters ‘Computational Biology and Bioinformatics’. She organizes and teaches short courses related to bioinformatics: “Crash course: Using the command line” and “Python Applied to the Biomedical Sciences”. She is a member of the IHMT-NOVA Council since December 2022, a member of the Scientific Committee of the Doctoral Program on International Health since 2022 and of the Scientific Committee of the biobank Biotropical Resources (BIOTROP) of GHTM-IHMT-NOVA since 2024.

Márcia Medeiros (Assistant Researcher)

I am a physician (FMUSP-1999) with specialisations in General and Internal Medicine (HCFMUSP-2003) and Travel Medicine (IHMT NOVA-2018) and a scientist in the field of Medical and Health Sciences with a PhD in Science – Host-Pathogen Interactions (ICBUSP-2011).

As a PhD researcher in some Portuguese institutions of the highest international prestige, I have demonstrated: i) the role of immunoregulatory mechanisms in the sequestration phenomenon of Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes using an experimental rodent model and intravital microscopy (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081409); ii) the molecular mechanisms observed in enzymopathies involved in erythrocyte resistance to malaria infection, shedding light on host-directed therapies (doi:10.3389/fcimb.2022.840968, doi:10.3390/ijms24021336); iii) the effect of new compounds and repurposed drugs on Plasmodium development in the invertebrate host and on liver and blood stages of malaria infection in experimental rodent models (doi:10.3390/plants12040963); iv) the association between revaccination with the live-attenuated bivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV) and a healthier microbiome composition in the gut and upper respiratory tract of revaccinated children, which may mediate non-specific effects of OPV on unrelated pathogens (doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.1016220).

Currently, I am doing pre-travel clinical appointments at the Travellers’ Clinic of the Association for the Development of Tropical Medicine (ADMT) since 2022, I am coordinating the Curricular Unit of Viral Infections of the Master in Tropical Health (IHMT NOVA) and I am teaching classes in the aforementioned Curricular Unit since 2023 and in the Specialization Course on Travel Medicine since 2024.

Isabel Craveiro (Assistant Professor)

Graduated in Sociology (BSc) since 1996, and Master in Sociology of Development and Social Transformation (2002) by the Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra. In 2010 obtained PhD degree in International Health from the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of NOVA University of Lisbon. Associate Professor in the Unit for Global Public Health, at IHMT-NOVA.

Member of the Scientific Council of the Research Center Global Health and Tropical Medicine and facilitator of the Cross Cutting Issue Fair Research Partnerships.

Coordinator of the Masters in Public Health and Development. Has supervised several post-doctoral, doctoral and master’s works.

Professional experience in Portugal, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea Bissau. She has been involved in large collaborative research projects financed by European Union and FCT.

Maria Leão (coordinator of the Ciência+Cidadã Program (https://linktr.ee/cienciamaiscidada), in coordinated by NOVA ITQB in a close partnership with Oeiras Municipality)

Maria Leão is the coordinator of the Ciência+Cidadã Program (https://linktr.ee/cienciamaiscidada), in coordinated by NOVA ITQB in a close partnership with Oeiras Municipality, has a PhD in biomedicine and experience in citizen science, science communication and fundraising for science.

Maria João Leão has been the coordinator of the Ciência+Cidadã (C+C) Programme since 2022, which is coordinated by NOVA ITQB in close partnership with Oeiras Municipality. The programme’s mission is to implement a citizen science strategy in scientific institutions and local communities (https://linktr.ee/cienciamaiscidada). She has extensive experience in coordinating and managing projects, promoting science and health literacy, science communication, fundraising, and implementing citizen science strategies both at the institutional level and within local communities. Maria Leão has also launched and coordinated scientific research awards and grants, financed by civil society and/or awarded in partnership with the Foundation for Science and Technology. Additionally, she has significant experience in organizing events, institutional representation, and communications through television and radio. She has established broad contact networks, particularly connecting biomedical research institutions and clinics, patient associations, schools, media, pharmaceutical companies, and local communities.

Between 2012 and 2022, Maria Leão served as one of the Executive Directors and Vice-President of Maratona da Saúde, a non-profit association aimed at raising awareness and funds for biomedical research in Portugal. She holds a degree in Biology from the University of Coimbra, an International Master’s in Biotechnology from De Montfort University, a PhD in Virology and Cancer from Imperial College / Gulbenkian PhD Programme in Biology and Medicine (PGDBM), and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in breast cancer at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Centre.