Maria Teresa Bispo

Maria Teresa Bispo is a PhD student in Biomedical Sciences at the Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT-NOVA), specialising in Parasitology.

She holds a degree in Biomedicine from the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil (2017), where she engaged in research on immune responses to Strongyloides venezuelensis and the effects of acupuncture on physiological parameters in rats.

In 2019, she completed a Master’s in Tropical Parasitic Diseases at the University of Valencia, Spain, focusing on the distribution and morphology of Planorbarius metidjensis in the Iberian Peninsula.

She has experience in clinical diagnostics (2020–2022) and obtained a postgraduate degree in Clinical Analysis and Microbiology in Brazil (2021).

Since 2022, she has contributed as a research fellow to the Project Alqueva (10.54499/2022.01349.PTDC), investigating freshwater snails and their role in the transmission of zoonotic trematodes in Portugal. Her PhD research integrates fieldwork, molecular diagnostics, and ecological analysis to support the strategic surveillance of snail-borne parasitic diseases.

Her work reflects a multidisciplinary approach to parasitology, with relevance to One Health, public health, and environmental monitoring.

More information here.

Parasitic Infectious Diseases

Snail-borne Diseases

Freshwater Snails

Trematodes

1. Bispo MT, Maurício IL, Ferreira PM, Belo S, Calado M. Physella acuta Confirmed as Intermediate Host of Posthodiplostomum sp. from Lake Alqueva, Portugal. Pathogens. 2025; 14(4):304. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14040304
2. Bispo MT, Calado M, Maurício IL, Ferreira PM, Belo S. Zoonotic Threats: The (Re)emergence of Cercarial Dermatitis, Its Dynamics, and Impact in Europe. Pathogens. 2024; 13(4):282. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13040282
3. Tavore LC, Silva Bispo MT, Gama LA, Mati V, Anjos-Ramos L. Age range implications of rats over Strongyloides venezuelensis infection. Exp Parasitol. 2021;220:108046. doi:10.1016/j.exppara.2020.108046