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RESEARCH

Mafalda is fascinated by how tiny things such as viruses, bacteria, or mutations in our DNA cause illnesses.

After a brief period working in biotechnology, she started studying the effects of a potential anti-cancer drug in the mitochondrial metabolism of hepatocarcinoma (liver cancer) cells. Then, Mafalda's PhD research was focused on understanding how a family of viruses, called Flaviviruses, are able to exploit the cellular machinery and escape its innate immune response.

ACADEMIC JOURNEY

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

University of California Riverside
Riverside, CA, USA
Oct 2021 - Present

Microbiology and Plant Pathology Deparment

Dr Juliet Morrison's lab

GUEST LECTURER

Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal

Lavradio, Portugal
2019 - 2021

Chemistry and Biology Section

Courses lectured: Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, and Microbiology.

PHD IN VIRUS-HOST INTERACTIONS

University of Surrey
Guildford, United Kingdom
2016 - 2020

Department of Biochemical Sciences, Immunology Section

Supervised by Dr Peter Mayerhofer, Dr Rachel Simmonds, and Dr. Kevin Maringer.

Thesis title: "Role of peroxisomes and PEX19 in Zika and dengue virus-host interactions".

RESEARCH INTERNSHIP

Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
September 2014 - December 2014
Laboratory Genetic Metabolic Diseases

Supervised by Dr Ronald JA Wanders.

MASTERS DEGREE IN BIOPHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES

Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon

Lisbon, Portugal

2013-2015

​Drug discovery - Metabolism and Genetics

Supervised by Dr Margarida FB Silva (FFUL, UL) and Dr Ronald JA Wanders (AMC, UvA).

Thesis title: "The role of a KDAC inhibitor in nitrogen metabolism: the therapeutic challenges for liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma."

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TRAINING COURSE

Institute of Chemistry and Biologic Technology (ITQB)

Oeiras, Portugal

September 2012 - March 2013

​Plant Cell Biology Laboratory

Supervised by Dr Rita Abranches.

Project title: "Establishment of cell suspension cultures of Medicago truncatula expressing human recombinant L-PGDS enzyme by transformation mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens."

BACHELOR IN CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Faculty of Sciences and Technology (FCT), New University of Lisbon (UNL)
Almada, Portugal
2009-2013

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ACADEMIC WRITING

Below is the collection of published scientific papers to which I am an author.

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Advances in methods for characterization of hepatic urea cycle enzymatic activity in HepaRG cells using UPLC-MS/MS.

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Dengue and Zika Virus Capsid Proteins Contain a Common PEX19-Binding Motif

Farelo MA, Korrou-Karava D, Brooks  KF, Russell TA, Maringer K, Mayerhofer PU.

TECHNICAL WRITING

Below is the collection of published technical writing pieces to which I am an author.

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Mass spectrometry at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Ebook - The Role of Mass Spectrometry in Virus Research.
Chapter 3: An Introduction to Mass Spectrometry in Virus-Host Interactions.

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