Ricardo Parreira

Ricardo Manuel Soares Parreira is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT) since 1998, being a member of the Virology Group of the Medical Microbiology Unit.

He has a degree in Applied Plant Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon and a PhD in Genetics and Microbial Physiology from the University of Paris XI (Orsay Center). As an invited researcher at the Center for Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Lisbon he analyzed mechanisms of bacterial lysis induced by phages (Post-Doc).

To date, it has published 66 indexed, international, scientific articles in specialized scientific journals (RESEARCHID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/I-2304-2012; ORCID: Scopus Author ID 6602129518) (peer reviewed), essentially in the areas of molecular epidemiology, the characterization of polymorphisms associated with drug resistance, the development of diagnostic methods, and the phylogenetic analysis and phylogeography of viral sequences. At IHMT, he is essentially dedicated to epidemiological analysis, using molecular techniques. He has studied HIV, HCV, TTV, and GBV-C viruses, circulating both in Portugal and in African countries such as Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique. More recently, arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks have been its main target of study, including published work on Zika virus, the dengue virus and West Nile fever. In parallel with the study of arboviruses, his work with hematophagous arthropods has led to the characterization of several insect-specific viruses found in mosquitoes and ticks harvested in Portugal, Spain, Mozambique and Angola. He also collaborates in several studies involving the characterization of hematophagous arthropods and the non-viral pathogens associated with them.

He is the Coordinator of the Masters in Biomedical Sciences/IHMT and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Masters in Medical Microbiology/NOVA, a member of the IHMT Ethics Commission, of the Institute’s Council, as well as of the institute’s Occupational Health and Biosafety Commission.

Research Areas:

• Virus detection and characterization of mosquitoes, ticks and sandflies.
• Metagenomic approaches to the study of mosquito viromes.
• Analysis of spatiotemporal dispersion of mosquito- and tick-borne viruses.

Team members: David Faísca

Direct collaborators: Carla Maia (GHTM/IHMT), Sofia Seabra (GHTM/IHMT), Sandra Antunes (GHTM/IHMT), Ana Domingos (GHTM/IHMT) Carla Sousa (GHTM/IHMT), Paulo Almeida (GHTM/IHMT), Ana B. Abecasis (GHTM/IHMT), Vítor Pimentel (GHTM/IHMT), Mónica Nunes (iXLabs/Univ. Lisboa), Daniel Bravo-Barriga (Univ. Cáceres, Spain), Eva Frontera (Univ. Cáceres, Spain), André Pereira (Univ. Lusófona), Sílvia Barros (INIAV, Portugal), Eddyson Sabino (Hermilio Valdizan National University, Peru).

1. Morais P, Trovão NS, Abecasis AB, Parreira R. 2021. Genetic lineage characterization and spatiotemporal dynamics of classical insect-specific flaviviruses: outcomes and limitations. Virus Research. 303:198507. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2021.198507
2. Morais P, Trovão NS, Abecasis AB, Parreira R. 2022. Readdressing the genetic diversity and taxonomy of the Mesoniviridae family, as well as its relationships with other nidoviruses and putative mesonivirus-like viral sequences. Virus. Res. 313:198727. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198727
3. Morais P, Trovão NS, Abecasis AB, Parreira R. 2022. Insect-specific viruses in the Parvoviridae family: Genetic lineage characterization and spatiotemporal dynamics of the recently established Brevihamaparvovirus genus. Virus Research. 313:198728.m doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198728
4. Falcão M, Barros M, Duarte MD, dos Santos FA, Fagulha T, Henriques M, Ramos F, Duarte A, LuísT3, Parreira R, Barros SC. 2023. Genome Characterization and Spaciotemporal Dispersal Analysis of Bagaza Virus Detected in Portugal, 2021. Pathogens. 12(2):150. doi: 10.3390/pathogens12020150
5. Moerbeck L, Parreira R, Szczotko M, Seixas G, Velez R, Dmitryjuk M, Santos AS, Domingos A, Antunes S. 2024. Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens Circulating in Peri-Domestic Areas in Mainland Portugal. Microorganisms. 12(5):1006. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12051006