Leonardo Moreira

Leonardo Moerbeck (LM) is a Veterinary with a master’s degree in Health and Biodiversity granted by Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IOC/FIOCRUZ), as well as a student of the PhD program in Tropical Diseases and Global Health at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT-NOVA) and currently, a member of the Vector Borne Diseases and Pathogens group of Global Health & Tropical Medicine.

He has experience in the field of parasitology and molecular biology, working on the following topics: molecular biology, biodiversity and eco-epidemiology related to emerging, re-emerging and/or neglected diseases with a focus on ticks as potential or natural vectors, tick-borne diseases, tick-borne pathogens, spotted-fever group Rickettsia, tick-borne rickettsiosis, tick microbiota, tick symbionts and Rickettsiales as tick endosymbionts and commensal microorganisms.

To date, LM is author/co-author of 4 peer-reviewed publications with over than 100 citations and a h-index of 4.

Current Research Interests include:

• Ticks and tick-borne pathogens epidemiology
• Tick-borne rickettsiae and tick symbionts
• Molecular biology of tick microbiota and tick microbiome

 

Leonardo Moerbeck is a member of the team lead by Ana Domingos (Assistant Researcher with habilitation/aggregation), which includes Sandra Antunes (researcher), Gonçalo Seixas (researcher), Joana Gibson (PhD student) and Filipe Tomaz (MSc student).

 

Aligned with the research priorities of the GHTM group “Vector borne-diseases”, team studies are based on the premise that a deeper insight into vector and parasite omics provides fundamental information that can be interrogated to study key elements of parasite development and host-parasite interactions towards vector and disease control. To date, ticks and tick-borne pathogens epidemiology were explored in Portugal mainland. In addition, tick microbiome is an ongoing investigation.

 

1. Moerbeck L, Vizzoni VF, Machado-Ferreira E, et al. (2016) Rickettsia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) Vector Biodiversity in High Altitude Atlantic Forest Fragments Within a Semiarid Climate: A New Endemic Area of Spotted-Fever in Brazil. J Med Entomol. 53(6):1458-1466. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjw121. Epub 2016 Aug 1. PMID: 27480099.
2. Machado-Ferreira E, Vizzoni VF, Moerbeck L, et al. (2016). Coxiella symbionts are widespread into hard ticks. Parasitol Res. Dec;115(12):4691-4699. doi: 10.1007/s00436-016-5230-z. Epub 2016 Sep 6. PMID: 27595990.
3. Moerbeck L, Vizzoni VF, de Oliveira SV, et al. (2018). Rickettsia sp. Strain NOD Infecting Ticks (Amblyomma nodosum) in an Endemic Area of Spotted Fever in Brazil. J Wildl Dis. Apr;54(2):406-409. doi: 10.7589/2017-06-137. Epub 2017 Dec 20. PMID: 29261444.
4. Moerbeck L, Cardoso KM, Aboud-Dutra AE, et al. 2013. Frequency of Equine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (EME) in Brazil. Pesq Vet Bras. 33(6). https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-736X2013000600001.