15-12-2014
Ricardo Franco, Professor at the Chemistry Department at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, has a project approved from the Gilead GÉNESE program. Ricardo Franco, member of UCIBIO@REQUIMTE, collaborates with Eulália Pereira, also from UCIBIO@REQUIMTE, and Olga Matos, from IHMT-NOVA, who is the principal investigator of the project “Immuno-nanodiagnostic of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP): an innovative approach based on the association of serological biosensors and nanoparticles”.
This is a multidisciplinary partnership and of transversal scientific know-how in the areas of infectious diseases, with particular emphasis on HIV / AIDS infection and invasive fungal infections, allowing the integration of new diagnostic technologies based on gold nanoparticles.
Ricardo Franco, head of the Bionano Lab, explains that “the type of pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii (PPc) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among SIDA patients, and an emerging problem for HIV seronegative immunocompromised patients”. On this project “our main goal is to identify markers and design a device for serological diagnosis of PPc that is easy to use and that gives us rapid results, and thus allowing to implement a timely appropriate strategy for treatment”, says Ricardo Franco.
Gilead Sciences has been distinguished by the research and development of new drugs and scientific knowledge, as well as in areas of social responsibility, either globally or in the national sphere. In this 2nd edition, the Gilead Program GENESIS proposed to support scientific projects and community initiative projects in the areas of HIV infection / AIDS, chronic viral hepatitis B and / or C, invasive fungal infections and cystic fibrosis.
