ESR 15 – Antibacterial Testing of Polymers
Patrícia Varela – Politecnico di Torino and Universitätsklinikum Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum GmbH
The Project: Research will focus on developing optimal sterilisation methods depending on the material characteristics and performing antibacterial testing of polymers synthesised throughout the project. Moreover, biocompatibility will be studied exploring basic molecular and cellular mechanisms to develop a greater understanding of the immune system in the presence of these new materials. Finally, all the technical documents for the validation of novel polymers will be prepared.
The Researcher: Patrícia Varela is a Portuguese Biologist that in 2012 obtained her Master’s degree in Cell Biology and Biotechnology in the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon.
Her interest in Microbiology started as an undergraduate student by doing a curricular internship in which she studied the phenotypic resistance to antibiotics of Gram-negative bacilli isolated from mackerel. Later at the Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMC) she associated this area with Nanomedicine in projects that explored the efficacy of drug delivery systems as therapeutic solutions to diseases such as sleeping sickness and leishmaniasis. More recently, she found a new curiosity in immunotherapeutic approaches at the ICVS Life and Health Sciences Institute, where she studied metabolic reprogramming of Macrophages in the presence of different pathogenic microorganisms (e.g. Aspergillus fumigatus).
Besides science, she enjoys many activities such as travel, music, books, movies, sports and being with friends and family.