Isabel Couto

Isabel Couto holds a PhD in Biology – Molecular Biology, by Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Associate Professor of Medical Microbiology (Bacteriology) at Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (IHMT-NOVA).

Teaches at several Curricular Units of Master and Doctorate Courses at IHMT-NOVA, some of which she also coordinates. Member of the Scientific Committees of the Master Course in Biomedical Sciences (IHMT-NOVA) and Master Course in Medical Microbiology (NOVA). Elected member of IHMT´s General Council.

Main area of scientific activity:
Molecular characterization and antimicrobial resistance of bacterial pathogens, focusing on staphylococci and mycobacteria.

Current research interests:
1. Characterization of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in bacteria, particularly efflux-driven resistance.
2. Characterization of antibiotic and biocide resistance determinants in staphylococci.
3. Molecular tools for the rapid identification of pathogenic bacteria, in particular drug-resistant staphylococci and mycobacteria.

Coordinator of 5 funded research projects in these areas; also integrated the research teams of >25 R&D projects involving national and international groups. Supervisor of several post-doctoral, PhD and Master students.

Currently, she coordinates the project “BIOSAFE: Preventing antimicrobial resistance in the community – the safe use of biocides.” PORL/FEDER, FCT, PTDC/CAL-EST/30713/2017 (http://biosafe.ihmt.unl.pt/ ).

Co-author of over 100 research papers in international journals with peer-review and 11 book chapters.
ResearcherID: I-2640-2012; Scopus Author ID: 55916738200

Team: Sofia Santos Costa (PhD researcher); Patrícia Abrantes (PhD researcher); Catarina Morais (PhD student); Marcelino Garrine (PhD student); Carolina Ferreira (PhD student); Marta Leal (Msc); Mariana Andrade (Msc); Joana Neves (Msc student); Carolina Antunes (Msc student); Paula Zacharias (Msc student).

1. Costa SS, Ferreira C, Ribeiro R, Feßler AT, Schink A-K, Kadlec K, Kaspar H, Amaro A, Albuquerque T, Abrantes P, Morais C, Pomba C, Schwarz S, Couto I. Proposal of epidemiological cut-off values for apramycin 15 µg and florfenicol 30 µg disks applicable to Staphylococcus aureus. Microbial Drug Resistance 2021, 27 (11): 1555-1559. http://doi.org/10.1089/mdr.2020.0402
2. Costa SS*, Oliveira V, Serrano M, Pomba C, Couto I*. Phenotypic and molecular traits of Staphylococcus coagulans associated with canine skin infections in Portugal. Antibiotics 2021, 10(5), 518. http://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10050518
3. Ferreira C, Costa SS, Serrano M, Oliveira K, Trigueiro G, Pomba C, Couto I. Clonal lineages, antimicrobial resistance and PVL carriage of Staphylococcus aureus associated to skin and soft tissue infections from ambulatory patients in Portugal. Antibiotics 2021, 10(4), 345.
   http://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10040345
4. Costa SS, B Sobkowiak, R Parreira, J Edgeworth, M Viveiros, TG Clark, I Couto. (2019). Genetic diversity of norA, coding for a main efflux pump of Staphylococcus aureus. Front. Genet. 9, 710. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2018.00710
5. Costa SS, M Viveiros, C Pomba, I Couto. (2018). Active antimicrobial efflux in Staphylococcus epidermidis: building up of resistance to fluoroquinolones and biocides in a major opportunistic pathogen. J Antimicrob Chemother. 73: 320–324. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkx400