adelfa.serrano@upr.edu
Professor
Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology
Director of the Molecular Biology of Malaria Parasites Laboratory
Director of the Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases Services

Dr. Adelfa E. Serrano is a Professor of Molecular Parasitology in the Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology of the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She has studied malaria for over 35 years, working towards the understanding of parasite drug resistance, parasite development in both the vertebrate and mosquito hosts, drug discovery and testing. Dr. Serrano have successfully coordinated and managed the Infectious Diseases Facility for over 25 years and currently serves as Director for the Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases Services, CCRHD-NIH, at the UPR Medical Sciences Campus. She received a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science, both in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras, working in bilharzia. In 1987, she received a PhD from the University of Georgia, Athens, where she characterized cellular immune responses during Schistosoma mansoni infections and vaccines.

Dr. Serrano did her post-doctoral research training at the Harvard School of Public Health, in the Department of Tropical Public Health, specializing in the molecular biology of the malaria parasite, focusing in the mechanisms of multidrug resistance and the molecular diagnosis of malaria. In 1991, Dr. Serrano joined the Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology at the UPR School of Medicine where she has maintained an active research laboratory funded by the NIH, other agencies, PR Science & Technology Trust, private industry, and various foundations. The current research focuses on drug discovery, the identification and validation of potential targets and candidates for malaria therapeutic interventions as well as the parasite’s ATP Binding Cassette transporters and the molecular pathways of glutathione metabolism, including the genes and their potential role in malaria drug resistance, parasite development and potential drug targets, in the vertebrate and mosquito hosts. She has maintained productive collaborations with NIH-NIAD, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Johns Hopkins University, Case Western Research University, Leiden University, Sanofi-Genzyme, The Broad Institute, and Harvard University.