Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology

Message from the Department Chair:

On behalf of the Department of Microbiology University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, I thank you for visiting our website. Whether you are a prospective student, an alumnus or a colleague, I am pleased you’re taking a closer look at our department and our research programs.

The Microbiology department is home of the most prestigious graduate program of microbial sciences in the Caribbean region. Ours is one of the most active basic sciences department of the Medical Sciences Campus (MSC), the unit of the UPR dedicated to preparation of health professionals through academic and research offerings and to the service of the people of Puerto Rico.

The Department offers a broad range of research and teaching activities in the area of medical microbiology, zoology, immunology and Omics. Our Master in Science (M.S.) and Doctor in Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs have been the backbone of our research activities. Areas of active basic research include: molecular and classical parasitology, immunology, bacteriology and antibiotics resistance, virology (including Dengue, influenza, chikungunya, ZIKA, AIDS and neuro-AIDS related research), vaccine development, mycology, and fungal aerobiology, microbial genetics, physiology and microbiomes.Our faculty and graduate students have published their scientific research in prestigious journals and won, in several occasions, important scientific competitions and fellowship awards.

Additionally, faculty mentors of our program offer important services to our society, including reporting levels of Aeroallergens to media or offering many outreach activities to our communities.

Additionally faculty are involved with leading organizations including the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) leading organizations such as the AAAS Caribbean Division, the Puerto Rico Society for Microbiologists, Applied Microbiology International. Additionally some of our faculty served as members of the scientific task force in support of the Governor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our program is therefore essential in the Biomedical research landscape of Puerto Rico and in expanding microbiology research inthe Caribbean.

I thank everyone, our faculty committed to our school and most importantly to our students for their resilience and great competence. You make us all proud.

Innovation and research continues with many professors being funded locally and federally, guaranteeing the exciting and competitive research projects that nurture many graduate thesis. Undeterred, our many project leaders enthusiastically publishing papers, inventing new things (we have at least three recent patents!), submitting proposals, communicating with the society through many seminars offered now remotely, and planning for the future.

Watch the promotional video below in the streaming feed below and our news section that summarizes achievements by our research teams and highlights the impact of our science. Browse through our homepage and discover each departmental laboratories and their social media pages for real time updated information.

Welcome all!

Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, Ph.D.

(Scan to Download Brochure)

Microbiology and Medical Zoology Streaming Feed

We interviewed Dr. Filipa Godoy, as part of the 75th anniversary of the School of Medicine of the Medical Sciences Campus. Subscribe to our channel and share this content! Follow us on all our social networks and visit https://md.rcm.upr.edu/ for more information.

The billions of microbes that live on and inside each of us are critical for regulating and maintaining our health. In this video, Dr. Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, Ph.D. from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine discusses the importance of a healthy microbiome and discusses ways we can keep our microbiomes functioning properly in order to prevent diseases such as cervical cancer.