João Mamede, PhD

João Mamede, PhD, studies the interactions between viruses and their adaptations to their hosts. Mamede earned his PhD on Virology and Molecular Biology on his studies on cellular proteins that play an important role in the infection of circulating SIV from different monkey species and HIV-2 from a cohort of patients.

His post-doctoral and current focus of research is on the study of the HIV mechanisms of infection in cell lines, CD4 T-cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Mamede is interested in studying the intracellular innate immunity mechanisms, cellular responses and cellular adaptations to incoming viral particles. His research program has special interest in proteins that are regulated by Interferon (Interferon Stimulated Genes) and how their expression promotes or blocks infectivity.

Mamede has used multiple techniques such as long live-cell fluorescence imaging, high and super resolution fixed immunofluorescence (3D-SIM), biochemistry, biophysical, quantitative PCR, flow cytometry, and functional assays to study lentiviral infections of HIV-1, HIV-2, and SIVs from multiple non-human primates.