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
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
ACADEMIC WRITING
Below is the collection of published scientific papers to which I am an author.
Advances in methods for characterization of hepatic urea cycle enzymatic activity in HepaRG cells using UPLC-MS/MS.
Drug-induced effects on urea cycle enzymes associate with altered ammonia metabolism, NAD+ biosynthesis and mitochondrial protein acetylome.
TECHNICAL WRITING
Below is the collection of published technical writing pieces to which I am an author.
Ebook - The Role of Mass Spectrometry in Virus Research.
Chapter 3: An Introduction to Mass Spectrometry in Virus-Host Interactions.
GUEST LECTURER
Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal
Lavradio, Portugal
2019 - 2021
Chemistry and Biology Section
Courses lectured: Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, and Microbiology.