Susana Adelaide da Natividade Rodrigues de Sousa (8615-065C-0CE1)

Curriculum Vitae

Susana Adelaide da Natividade Rodrigues de Sousa

Susana Adelaide da Natividade Rodrigues de Sousa has a degree in Biochemistry (2000) by the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto; a master degree in Neurosciences and Tropical Parasitology (2005) by the Faculty of Medicine , University of Limoges, France; and PhD in Biology-Sciences-Health (2009) by the Faculty of Medicine , University of Limoges, France. My post-doc research mainly focused on the development of immunodevices for serodiagnosis using nanoparticles. An innovating method, combining immunomagnetic separation with flow cytometry for the laboratorial serodiagnosis of canine leishmaniasis was developed. Since 2015, my work has been centered towards the development of biosensors using gold nanoparticles for diagnosis of Toxoplasma infection. More recently, I was invited to integrate a European research project (Horizon 2020) in order to understand the risk of infection by Toxoplasma gondii for consumers by eating raw vegetables and fruits. A specific biomarker for Toxoplasma gondii oocysts was identified, and a polyclonal antibody produced and successfully used in the identification of Toxoplasma oocysts. I am also a member of the International Network for Environmental Toxoplasma Studies. Published 20 papers in peer-review international journals.

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Identification

Personal identification

Full name: Susana Adelaide da Natividade Rodrigues de Sousa

Citation names

Sousa, Susana

Author identifiers

Ciência ID: 8615-065C-0CE1
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3891-3924

Email addresses

adelaide.sousa@insa.min-saude.pt (Professional)
susanasousa_76@hotmail.com (Personal)

Addresses

Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge - Centro de Saúde Pública Dr. Gonçalves Ferreira. Rua Alexandre Herculano, 321 , 4000-055, Porto, Porto, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

http://www.requimte.pt/ (Professional)

Knowledge fields

Medical and Health Sciences - Health Sciences - Parasitology

Languages

Language	Speaking	Reading	Writing	Listening	Peer-review
English	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)
French	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Beginner (A1)	Intermediate (B1)

Education

	Degree	Classification
2009/04/17 Concluded	doutoramento em Biologia - Ciências - Saúde (Doctorat) Université de Limoges Faculté de Médecine, France "Serotyping of Toxoplasma gondii - contributions to the knowledge of parasite biodiversity" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	menção "trés honorable"
2005/06/30 Concluded	Mestrado Neurociências e Parasitologia Tropical (Master) Université de Limoges Faculté de Médecine, France "Isolation and genetic study of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from Portugal" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	13.042
2000 Concluded	Bioquimica (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal "A glândula supra-renal em cultura primaria - modelo de secreção zonal" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	12

Affiliation

Science

	Category Host institution	Employer
2021/04/12 - Current	Auxiliary Researcher (Research)	Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Portugal

Teaching in Higher Education

	Category Host institution	Employer
2019/09/01 - 2021/04/11	Invited Assistant Professor (University Teacher)	Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal

Others

	Category Host institution	Employer
2019/03/01 - 2021/04/11	Researcher	REQUIMTE LAQV Porto, Portugal

2015/10/01 - 2019/02/28	Post-doc fellowship	REQUIMTE LAQV Porto, Portugal

2013/04/16 - 2015/06/30	Post-doc fellowship	REQUIMTE LAQV Porto, Portugal

2010/02/01 - 2013/04/15	Post-doc fellowship	Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal

2009/05/01 - 2010/01/31	Research fellowship (BIC)	Universidade do Porto Centro de Estudos de Ciencia Animal, Portugal

2001/03/21 - 2007/01/31	Research fellowship (BIC)	Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge IP Departamento de Doenças Infeciosas, Portugal

1999/03/01 - 2001/02/28	internship	Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal

Projects

Grant

	Designation	Funders
2023/05/01 - 2024/12/31	Uncovering zoonotic Toxoplasma gondii genetic diversity and its implications on Toxoplasma pathogenesis - an one health approach AL4A-PROJ-LT2. Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) Universidade do Porto Centro de Estudos de Ciencia Animal, Portugal	Laboratório Associado para Ciência Animal e Veterinária Ongoing

Contract

	Designation	Funders
2017/05/01 - 2020/04/30	Horizon 2020 Project SafeconsumE, Sustainable food security - Resilient and resource efficient value chains 727580 Researcher Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências e Tecnologias Agrárias e Agro-Alimentares, Portugal	Concluded
2010/02/01 - 2013	DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW IMMUNOLOGICAL METHOD FOR DETECTION OF LEISHMANIASIS USING COLLOIDAL GOLD NANOPARTICLES PTDC/CVT/110732/2009 Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2009/05/01 - 2010/01/31	Test Fh8 3515 Research Fellow Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências e Tecnologias Agrárias e Agro-Alimentares, Portugal	Concluded

Outputs

Publications

Conference poster

Sousa, Susana; Correia da Costa, Jose Manuel; Pereira, Eulália. "Development of a colorimetric immunosensor for Toxoplasma gondii serotyping". Paper presented in XXVI Encontro Nacional da Sociedade Portuguesa de Quimica, 2019.
10.1109/icsens.2004.1426178
Sousa, Susana; Cardoso, Luís; Reed, SG; Silvestre, Ricardo; Cordeiro-da-Silva, Anabela. "Development of a fluorescent based immunosensor for the serodiagnosis of canine leishmaniasis combining immunomagnetic separation and flow cytometry". Paper presented in Congresso I3S, 2012.
10.13031/aim.20141895935
Sousa, Susana; Lopes, Ana Patricia; Cardoso, Luis; Silvestre, Ricardo; Schallig, Henk; Reed, SG; Cordeiro-da-Silva, Anabela. "Seroepidemiological survey of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs from northeastern Portugal". Paper presented in Congresso I3S, 2011.
Sousa, Susana; Mercier, A; Ajzenberg, Daniel; Durand, P; Al Banuls; Ngoubangoya, N; Aubert, Dominique; Villena, I; Dardé, ML. "Population structure of Toxoplasma gondii in Gabon". Paper presented in Toxoplasma centennial congress - from discovery to public health management, 2008.
Sousa, Susana; Mercier, A; Aubert, Dominique; Roy, V; Dumètre, A; Ajzenberg, Daniel; Alarion, N; et al. "Etude populationnelle d'isolats de Toxoplasmoses de type II provenant d'animaux sauvages et domestiques em France et au Portugal". Paper presented in 1º Journée Algéro-Française de Parasitologie, 2006.

Journal article

Sousa, Susana; Fernandes, Maria; Correia da Costa, José Manuel. Corresponding author: Sousa, Susana. "Serotyping, a challenging approach for Toxoplasma gondii typing". Frontiers in Medicine 10 (2023): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2023.1111509.
Published • 10.3389/fmed.2023.1111509
Cláudia S. Marques; Susana Sousa; António Castro; Vânia Ferreira; Paula Teixeira; José M. Correia da Costa. "Protozoa as the “Underdogs” for Microbiological Quality Evaluation of Fresh Vegetables". Applied Sciences (2022): https://doi.org/10.3390/app12147145.
10.3390/app12147145
Susana Sousa; António Castro; José Manuel Correia da Costa; Eulália Pereira. "Biosensor Based Immunoassay: A New Approach for Serotyping of Toxoplasma gondii". Nanomaterials 11 8 (2021): 2065-2065. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11082065.
10.3390/nano11082065
Sousa, Susana; Almeida, André; Delgado, Lurdes; Conceição, Antónia; Marques, Cláudia; da Costa, José Manuel Correia; Castro, António. "rTgOWP1-f, a specific biomarker for Toxoplasma gondii oocysts". Scientific Reports 10 1 (2020): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64590-4.
Published • 10.1038/s41598-020-64590-4
Marques, Cláudia S.; Sousa, Susana; Castro, António; da Costa, José Manuel Correia. "Detection of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in fresh vegetables and berry fruits". Parasites & Vectors 13 1 (2020): http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04040-2.
Published • 10.1186/s13071-020-04040-2
Santarém, Nuno; Sousa, Susana; Amorim, Célia G.; de Carvalho, Nuno Lima; de Carvalho, Hugo Lima; Felgueiras, Óscar; Brito, Margarida; da Silva, Anabela Cordeiro. "Challenges in the serological evaluation of dogs clinically suspect for canine leishmaniasis". Scientific Reports 10 1 (2020): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60067-6.
Published • 10.1038/s41598-020-60067-6
Sousa, Susana; Peixoto de Almeida, Miguel; Quaresma, P; Couto, C; Gomes, Inês; Krippahl, Ludwig; Franco,R; Pereira, Eulália. "Measurement of adsorption constants of laccase on gold nanoparticles to evaluate the enhancement in enzyme activity of adsorbed laccase". Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. (2018):
10.1039/c8cp03116a
Sousa, Susana; Puime, A; Correia da Costa, JM; Dardé, ML. "Serotyping Toxoplasma gondii: A Cross-Sectional Study in Uruguay". J Infect Dis Epidemiol (2017):
10.23937/2474-3658/1510039
Sousa, Susana; Cardoso, Luis; Reed, Steven G.; Reis, Alexandre B.; Martins-Filho, Olindo A.; Silvestre, Ricardo; da Silva, Anabela Cordeiro. "Development of a Fluorescent Based Immunosensor for the Serodiagnosis of Canine Leishmaniasis Combining Immunomagnetic Separation and Flow Cytometry". Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases 7 8 (2013):
10.1371/journal.pntd.0002371
Lopes, Ana Patricia; Sousa, Susana; Dubey, J. P.; Ribeiro, Ana J.; Silvestre, Ricardo; Cotovio, Mario; Schallig, Henk D. F. H.; Cardoso, Luis; Cordeiro-da-Silva, Anabela. "Prevalence of antibodies to Leishmania infantum and Toxoplasma gondii in horses from the north of Portugal". Parasites & Vectors 6 (2013):
10.1186/1756-3305-6-178
Sousa, Susana; Lopes, Ana Patricia; Cardoso, Luis; Silvestre, Ricardo; Schallig, Henk; Reed, Steven G.; da Silva, Anabela Cordeiro. "Seroepidemiological survey of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs from northeastern Portugal". Acta Tropica 120 1-2 (2011): 82-87.
10.1016/j.actatropica.2011.06.003
Sousa, Susana; Canada, Nuno; Correia da Costa, Jose Manuel; Darde, Marie-Laure. "Serotyping of naturally Toxoplasma gondii infected meat-producing animals". Veterinary Parasitology 169 1-2 (2010): 24-28.
10.1016/j.vetpar.2009.12.025
Sandfeld, L.; Petersen, E.; Sousa, S.; Laessoe, M.; Milea, D.. "Bilateral papillitis in ocular toxoplasmosis". Eye 24 1 (2010): 188-189.
10.1038/eye.2009.55
Sousa, S.; Thompson, G.; Silva, E.; Freire, L.; Lopes, D.; Correia da Costa, J. M.; Castro, A.; Carvalheira, J.; Canada, N.. "Determination of the More Adequate Modified Agglutination Test Cut-off for Serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Sheep". Zoonoses and Public Health 56 5 (2009): 252-256.
10.1111/j.1863-2378.2008.01187.x
Sousa, Susana; Ajzenberg, Daniel; Marle, Maggy; Aubert, Dominique; Villena, Isabelle; da Costa, Jose Correia; Darde, Marie-Laure. "Selection of Polymorphic Peptides from GRA6 and GRA7 Sequences of Toxoplasma gondii Strains To Be Used in Serotyping". Clinical and Vaccine Immunology 16 8 (2009): 1158-1169.
10.1128/CVI.00092-09
Sousa, Susana; Ajzenberg, Daniel; Vilanova, Manuel; Costa, Jose; Darde, Marie-Laure. "Use of GRA6-derived synthetic polymorphic peptides in an immunoenzymatic assay to serotype Toxoplasma gondii in human serum samples collected from three continents". Clinical and Vaccine Immunology 15 9 (2008): 1380-1386.
10.1128/CVI.00186-08
de Sousa, S; Ajzenberg, D; Canada, N; Freire, L; da Costa, JMC; Darde, ML; Thulliez, P; Dubey, JP. "Biologic and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from pigs from Portugal". Veterinary Parasitology 135 2 (2006): 133-136.
10.1016/j.vetpar.2005.08.012
Dubey, JP; Vianna, MCB; Sousa, S; Canada, N; Meireles, S; da Costa, JMC; Marcet, PL; et al. "Characterization of Toxoplasma gondii isolates in free-range chickens from Portugal". Journal of Parasitology 92 1 (2006): 184-186.
10.1645/GE-652R.1
Canada, N; Meireles, CS; Carvalheira, J; Rocha, A; Sousa, S; da Costa, JMC. "Determination of an optimized cut-off value for the Neospora agglutination test for serodiagnosis in cattle". Veterinary Parasitology 121 3-4 (2004): 225-231.
10.1016/S0304-4017(04)00076-7
Canada, N; Meireles, CS; Rocha, A; Sousa, S; Thompson, G; Dubey, JP; Romand, S; Thulliez, P; da Costa, JMC. "First Portuguese isolate of Neospora caninum from an aborted fetus from a dairy herd with endemic neosporosis". Veterinary Parasitology 110 1-2 (2002): 11-15.
10.1016/S0304-4017(02)00333-3
Pignatelli, D.; Maia, M.; Bento, M.J.; Sousa, Susana; Azevedo, M.E.; Magalhães, M.M; Magalhães, M.C.; Vinson, G.P.. "Captopril Effects on the Rat Adrenal Cortex". Endocrine Research 26 (2000): 965-972.
Published • 10.1530/acta.0.0440090

Activities

Oral presentation

	Presentation title	Event name Host (Event location)
2023/11/30	Development of immunodetection methods for identification of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts	Al4Animals Meeting Laboratório Associado para a Ciência Animal e Veterinária (Lisboa, Portugal)
2023/03/31	Immunomagnetic separation assay, using polyclonal antibodies anti-rTgOWP1-f, for detection of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts	VI CECA Meeting Centro de Estudos Ciência Animal (Porto, Portugal)
2021/10/02	Novo método de separação magnética para a deteção de oocistos de Toxoplasma gondii em amostras ambientais	V Jornadas CECA Centro de Estudos Ciência Animal (Porto, Portugal)
2021/06/24	rTgOWP1-f, a specific biomarker for Toxoplasma gondii oocysts	ApicoWplexa Virtual Meeting
2019/04	Prevalence and pathogenic potential of Toxoplasma gondii in fruits and vegetables	SafeConsume (Porto, Portugal)
2019/04	Detection of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in fresh vegetables and fruits	(Berlin, Germany)
2018/09	Protozoários emergentes	SPASS2018 Perigos Microbiológicos - Estratégias e Perspectivas Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge (Lisboa, Portugal)
2016/07	Development of a new method for Toxoplasma diagnosis and typing based on a bionanoconjugate biosensor	UCIBIO Workshop on Nanotechnology for Bioapplications (Costa da Caparica, Portugal)
2014	A gold nanoparticles-based test for the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis.	1st International Symposium on Nanoparticles-Nanomaterials and Applications (Costa da CAparica, Portugal)
2007/04	Estrutura da população de Toxoplasma gondii isolada em Portugal.	I Congresso de Análises Clínicas e Saúde Pública do INSA (Porto, Portugal)
2006/06	Genetic study of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from Portugal	International Workshop on Opportunistic Protits (Lisboa, Portugal)
2005/10	Genetic study of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from Portugal	IX Congresso Ibérico de Parasitologia (Coimbra, Portugal)
2001	Abortos em bovinos por Neospora caninum em Portugal: Métodos de diagnóstico e estudos da imunobiologia do parasita	III Congresso Ibérico de Reprodução Animal (Porto, Portugal)

Supervision

	Thesis Title Role	Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2023/09/01 - Current	Relação entre os diferentes genótipos de Toxoplasma gondii e a regulação da resposta imunológica no hospedeiro Supervisor	Mestrado em Microbiologia (Master) Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
2023/09/01 - Current	Toxoplasma gondii: Infeção experimental e estudo da resposta imunológica e inflamatória utilizando diversos genótipos Supervisor	Mestrado em Biologia Humana e Ambiente (Master)
2020/02/01 - Current	Toxoplasma gondii and mental health: reinforcing the link Supervisor	Programa Doutoral em SEgurança e Saúde Ocupacionais (DemSSO) (PhD) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2020/10/01 - 2021/06/01	Aplicação de nanobioconjugados no serodiagnóstico da infeção por Toxoplasma gondii Supervisor	BIochemistry (Degree) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2015 - 2016	Isolation and genetic characterization of Toxoplasma gondii. Evaluation of synthetic peptide efficiency in the genetic characterization of Toxoplasma gondii by serotyping Co-supervisor	Master in Applied Microbiology (Master) Universidade Católica Portuguesa Centro Regional do Porto, Portugal
2013 - 2014	Preparation of nanostar tyrosinase bioconjugates for sensor development Co-supervisor	Bioquímica (Degree) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal

Jury of academic degree

	Topic Role	Candidate name (Type of degree) Institution / Organization
2019	Metodologia de isolamento de anticorpos específicos anti-TgOWP1f (Thesis) Main arguer	Maria Leonor Moreira Mateus (Other) Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, Portugal
2019	Desenvolvimento de nanobioplataformas de sensing-shot para remediação de efluentes têxteis (Thesis) Main arguer	Sofia Manuela Martins Leal (Other) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal

Ad Hoc journal article review

	Journal title (ISSN)	Publisher
2021 - Current	Sensors	MDPI
2021 - Current	Molecules	MDPI
2021 - Current	Parasites & Vectors

Course / Discipline taught

	Academic session	Degree Subject (Type)	Institution / Organization
2019 - 2021	Course units Nanotechnology and Bionanotechnology and Bioinorganic Chemistry	Biochemistry (Licenciatura)	Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal