Henrique Silveira

PhD in parasitology by the Imperial College, UK. Currently Full Professor at Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (IHMT-NOVA), Deputy Director for Science at IHMT-NOVA and coordinator of the R&D Centre “Global Health and Tropical Medicine” (UID/Multi/04413/2013), graded as excellent by FCT (Portugal Science Foundation). Visiting Researcher at the Tropical Medicine Foundation of Amazonas (FMT-HVD), Manaus, Brazil. Coordinator of an international PhD programs with Fiorcuz, Brazil and collaborator on the Biomedical Science PhD program CEDUMED, UAN, Angola. Represents IHMT-NOVA at the Network of the National Health Institutes from Portuguese Speaking Countries (RINSP/CPLP), participating in technical missions, promoting projects, research and training.

Our research group is currently centered on the interactions between mosquitoes and Plasmodium parasites and how it can be modulated by external factors. Our goal is to develop effective tools to prevent malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes. We investigate mechanism of action of molecules able to modulate mosquito response to parasite, increasing resistance to infection and transmission blocking. We use murine malaria and Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. Similar approaches, but using mosquitoes collected in the field and experimentally infected with Plasmodium vivax is being developed in collaboration with Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr Heitor Vieira Dourado (FMT-HVD) Manaus, Brazil. At the FMT-HVD we also develop activities on the molecular characterization of Trypanosoma cruzi from the Amazon and its association with the eco-biology of vectors and Chagas Diseases outcomes. Most recently a blood-free diet for mosquito rearing was developed with the financial support from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Field approaches in Africa and large scale/long term usage is being further pursued. With collaborators, we show that alpha-gal vaccination confers sterile protection against malaria in mice, suggesting that a similar approach may reduce malaria transmission in humans. Currently we are studying the role of alpha-gal on invasion of host cells by parasites. Overall, I have coordinated/participated in more than 20 national and international research projects with competitive funding, has over 50 peer-reviewed articles, 2 book chapters and successfully supervised 7 PhD students. See CV for more details.

TEAM: Joana Marques, Hélio Rocha, Rosa Santana, Ana Catarina Alves, Joana Gomes

1. Marques J, Cardoso JCR, Felix RC, Santana RAG, Guerra MGB, Power D, Silveira H. 2018. Fresh-blood-free diet for rearing malaria mosquito vectors. Scientific Reports (in press)
2. Almeida APG, Fouque F, Launois P, Sousa CS, Silveira H. 2017. From the lab to the field: capacity building in medical entomology to address vector-borne disease emergencies. Trends in Parasitology 33: 664-668.
3. Yilmaz B, Portugal S, Tran TM, Gozzelino R, Ramos S, Gomes J, Regalado A, Cowan PJ, d’Apice AJF, Chong AS, Doumbo OK, Traore B, Crompton PD, Silveira H, Soares MP. 2014. Gut Microbiota Elicits a Protective Immune Response Against Malaria Transmission. Cell 159:1277-89.
4. Santana RA, Magalhães LK, Magalhães LK, Prestes SR, Maciel MG, da Silva GA, Monteiro WM, de Brito FR, de Aguiar Raposo Câmara Coelho LI, Barbosa-Ferreira JM, Guerra JA, Silveira H, das Graças Vale Barbosa M. 2014. Trypanosoma cruzi strain TcI is associated with chronic Chagas disease in the Brazilian Amazon. Parasit Vectors. 7:267.
5. Silveira H, Gabriel A, Ramos S, Palma J, Felix R, Custodio A, Collins V. 2012. CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides increases resistance of Anopheles mosquitoes to Plasmodium infection. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 42:758-765.