Biography

Miguel Prudêncio graduated in Biochemistry by the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon in 1993 and completed his PhD on Biochemistry by the University of East Anglia in 2000, followed by a post-doctoral period at the University of Leiden. During this period, he worked on metalloprotein characterization and protein-protein interactions. In 2004, he shifted his research focus to the field of malaria and became a post-doc in Maria Mota’s research group, initially at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência and later at Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM). In 2008 he became a Staff Scientist of iMM’s Malaria Unit, and in July 2013, he became a fully independent Group Leader at iMM, heading the Prudêncio lab. He was appointed Invited Associate Professor of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa in March 2019.

Miguel’s research interests are focused on the investigation of Plasmodium liver stages and on the exploitation of their potential for anti-malarial intervention. His research program includes the analysis of nutrient acquisition by hepatic Plasmodium parasites, the survey of novel parasite-host interactions, the study of Plasmodium-Trypanosoma co-infections, the identification of new anti-malarial compounds and the development of a new vaccination strategy against malaria, a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Malaria Vaccine Initiative.

Miguel is the author of over 120 scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals, having earned several scientific and innovation prizes, and is an inventor of several patents. He regularly lectures at undergraduate and graduate courses in various Faculties. He is a founding member the iMM Lisboa spin-off company RoPlaVac. He has had numerous media appearances in relation to his research work in the malaria field or to the public understanding of science.

As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, Miguel was involved in setting up iMM’s Task Force for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. He has a keen interest on COVID-19 vaccination and has addressed this issue on multiple occasions in webinars and in the media.