"I want to find out why mosquitoes are such efficient vectors of malaria, a disease so deadly to humans"

How did you become a scientist? What sparked your interest?

MARIA LUÍSA I fell in love with biology as a child as my dad, an agronomical engineer, instilled in me a love for plants. I especially cherished autumn, because it allowed me to collect various colorful and intriguing leaves to study at home under a large magnifying glass. Additionally, I was fortunate to have excellent teachers at school who taught environmental sciences – such great teachers and mentors have played pivotal roles in my life.

Naturally, I pursued a major in biology at university. During my studies, I spent a year in Italy, and later another year conducting research in Mauritania for my thesis. At the age of 19, I embarked on a field trip to a malaria-endemic region in West Africa. This area was teeming with mosquitoes, and many people were severely ill. It was during this trip that my interest in malaria transmission was ignited, not only in the disease and the parasite but above all, in the vector. Mosquitoes, as it turns out, are the deadliest animals on the planet.

Did you work on malaria right away?

MARIA LUÍSA No, I got a great opportunity in San Francisco, USA, to work on cancer research and anti-cancer compounds at a pharmaceutical company. It was very exciting to work on drug discovery. The pharma sector is fast-paced, I learned a ton on goal-oriented research and met the best colleagues. Then I moved to the UK to continue research at the Institute of Cancer Research and University College London. I planned to have a career in cancer research, but malaria has always remained in the back of my mind and I decided to pursue a PhD degree in it, at Nova University Lisbon and Imperial College London. Since then I have been faithful to malaria (smiles). After obtaining my degree, I pursued a postdoc at Johns Hopkins University, USA, where I was promoted to Faculty Research Associate. I returned to Europe and took a position as Assistant Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, where I stayed for 2 years.

Why did you choose ITM?

MARIA LUÍSA During my interactions with ITM’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, the Department showed a keen interest in my research. My research lines are complementary to what ITM and the biomedical colleagues have been working on, so it seemed a perfect fit. I started at ITM in May 2023 as Associate Professor, heading the Unit of Experimental Immunology.

What will you be working on at ITM?

MARIA LUÍSA My research focuses on malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes, vector/pathogen interactions and mosquito innate immunity. Simply put: why are mosquitoes such efficient vectors of a disease that is so deadly to humans? The classical malaria control methods are often failing because the parasite has developed a strong resistance to antimalarial drugs, the mosquitoes adapt to bednets, and they have become highly resistant to insecticides. In other words: we need to find new ways to combat this devastating disease.