Joana Carvalho
PhD Student
Background
M.Sc. in Biotechnology, IST, 2005
Graduation in Biology, Faculdade de Ciencias,
University of Lisbon, 2001
Research Activities
My research is mainly focused on the development of candidate DNA vaccines for African Trypanosomiasis. Non-viral DNA vaccination has emerged as a promising approach for the control of a wide range of infectious diseases. The work developed in our group also procures to design optimised plasmid vectors including, for example, specific signals that promote antigen targeting to the major antigen presentation and processing pathways, increasing DNA vaccine immunogenicity. The development of a vaccine against African Trypanosomiasis would be extremely relevant since this disease has a significant social and economical impact in large areas of sub-Saharan Africa.