04-06-2024
The competitive Fulbright Scholarship for Research, supported by FCT, has honored two NOVA FCT students, who will now have the opportunity to explore their PhD fields at leading institutions in the United States of America.
Ana Isabel Roque, who is pursuing her PhD in Biology at NOVA FCT and at the Centre for Innovative Care and Health Technologies of the Polytechnic of Leiria, will be a visiting researcher in Professor Fasano's laboratory at the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School, for eight months. Researching the mechanisms of autoimmunity in coeliac disease, possibly mediated by bacteria, she hopes to provide new insights into specific host-bacteria interactions and their influence on host responses to environmental disease triggers, potentially enabling the discovery of pathogenic targets and the development of new therapeutic or preventive approaches.
Carnegie Mellon University will host Beatriz Mariz, who is pursuing her PhD in Biology at NOVA FCT, for four months. Her project aims to uncover the role of specific Streptococcus pneumoniae proteins in bacterial pathogenicity and infection. This bacterium is one of the main causes of various infections and is recognized as a priority pathogen by the World Health Organization.
Fulbright Programme grants offer Portuguese students and professors the opportunity to study, teach, or conduct research in the United States of America, and American students and professors the opportunity to engage in similar activities in Portugal.
