filipa.godoy@upr.edu
Associate Professor
Chair, Dept Microbiology and Medical Zoology
PI Microbiome Lab

Filipa is an Associate Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, and the Chair of the Department of Microbiology. Filipa is a native of Portugal and has developed her career studying biodiversity associated with animal and human microbiomes, investigating an eclectic collection of topics, including evolution, community dynamics, biofilm succession and dysbiosis in different systems. She pioneered the use of metagenomics and bioinformatic integration analyses in Puerto Rico in human microbiome and tropical ecosystems.

Her laboratory investigates microbiomes in a variety of contexts using various Omic techniques to understand the co-evolution, transmission, and functions of microbial-host symbioses. Her group ’s mission is to translate microbial ecology to improve human health and conservation, while empowering education in the microbial sciences.

Filipa holds a BS in Biology from the University of Porto (Portugal), a Ph.D. in Biology from the UPR Rio Piedras (Puerto Rico) and a three-year postdoc done at the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (California), funded by an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship. She is an editorial board member of Microbes and Infection, ISME communications, Frontiers in Microbiology and Frontiers in Microbiomes. She is a Fellow of the Society for Applied Microbiology (UK), Ambassador for the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) and past President of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) Caribbean Division.

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=es&user=vkcHVwEAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

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 30 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 20 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.

hector.gorbea@upr.edu
Professor

Department of  Medicine

Dr. Gorbea is Professor of Medicine at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. He is Fellow of The American College of Physicians, Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and Fellow of The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
He has a BA from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, an MD from The University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, Residency in Internal Medicine at The Veterans Affairs Hospital in San Juan, and Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Gorbea is Board Certified in Infectious Diseases. Dr. Gorbea has a Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers’ Health from The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Among the awards Dr. Gorbea has received are Honor Award Certificate from the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Certificate of Appreciation for Exemplary Service as a Physician Master Trainer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He has received research support with grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. Among his research there are research projects in tropical diseases including Dengue, Chikungunya, and Leptospirosis.