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Dr Amanda Fortes Francisco

Assistant Professor

app of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Keppel Street - room 497
London
WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom

I hold an MSc and PhD in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Ouro Preto, Brazil. My research career has been dedicated to understanding the pathogenesis of parasitic diseases and advancing drug discovery for neglected diseases. In 2012, I was awarded a postdoctoral research fellowship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) to investigate Trypanosoma cruzi pathogenesis.

 

In 2014, I joined a research program funded by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a non-profit organization focused on developing new treatments for neglected diseases. My work primarily involves drug discovery and the study of T. cruzi and T. brucei pathogenesis, utilizing cutting-edge in vivo bioluminescent imaging systems to track disease progression and assess therapeutic efficacy.

 

With extensive experience in infectious disease research and advanced imaging technologies, I am committed to bridging fundamental science and translational research to improve treatment strategies for parasitic diseases. My expertise extends to in vivo modeling, high-throughput screening, and interdisciplinary collaborations aimed at accelerating drug development.

Affiliations

Department of Infection Biology
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases

Teaching

Tutor on Distance Learning module IDM601: Research Design, Management and Analysis, 2023 – current.

Tutor on Distance Learning module IDM203: Parasitology, 2019 – 2022.

Lecture on Molecular and Cell Biology of Infectious Disease (3260), 2022 – 2023. 

Supervision and training in animal and histological techniques applied to research.

 

MSc project supervision. 

 

 

Research

Chagas Heart Disease cardiomyopathy, with a focus on inflammation and fibrosis.
Exploit in vivo imaging technology to study trypanosomes pathogenesis and assess drug effectiveness.
Research Area
Chemotherapy
Disease control
Drug discovery and development
Protozoa
Public health
Trypanosomes
Immunopathology
Parasitology
Pathology
Parasites
Cardiovascular system
Digestive system
Disease and Health Conditions
Chagas Disease
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
Infectious diseases
Cardiovascular diseases
African trypanosomiasis
Chronic diseases
Heart disease
Tropical diseases
Region
World

Selected Publications

González, S; WALL, RJ; Thomas, J; Braillard, S; Brunori, G; Camino Díaz, I; Cantizani, J; Carvalho, S; Castañeda Casado, P; Chatelain, E; Cotillo, I; Fiandor, JM; FRANCISCO, AF; Grimsditch, D; Keenan, M; KELLY, JM; Kessler, A; Luise, C; Lyon, JJ; MacLean, L; Marco, M; Martin, JJ; Martinez Martinez, MS; Paterson, C; Read, KD; ... De Rycker, M.
2023
Science translational medicine
FRANCISCO, AF; Sousa, GR; Vaughan, M; Langston, H; KHAN, A; Jayawardhana, S; TAYLOR, MC; Lewis, MD; KELLY, JM;
2023
Pathogens
Jayawardhana, S; Ward, AI; FRANCISCO, AF; Lewis, MD; TAYLOR, MC; KELLY, JM; Olmo, F;
2023
PLoS Pathogens
FRANCISCO, AF; Chen, G; Wang, W; Sykes, ML; Escudié, F; Scandale, I; Olmo, F; Shackleford, DM; Zulfiqar, B; Kratz, JM; Pham, T; Saunders, J; Hu, M; Avery, VM; Charman, SA; KELLY, JM; Chatelain, E;
2023
Frontiers in tropical diseases
Racané, L; Ptiček, L; Kostrun, S; Raić-Malić, S; TAYLOR, MC; DELVES, M; ALSFORD, S; Olmo, F; FRANCISCO, AF; KELLY, JM;
2023
Journal of medicinal chemistry
Rao, SP S; Gould, MK; Noeske, J; Saldivia, M; Jumani, RS; Ng, PS; René, O; Chen, Y-L; Kaiser, M; Ritchie, R; FRANCISCO, AF; Johnson, N; Patra, D; Cheung, H; Deniston, C; Schenk, AD; Cortopassi, WA; Schmidt, RS; Wiedemar, N; Thomas, B; Palkar, R; Ghafar, NA; Manoharan, V; Luu, C; Gable, JE; ... Diagana, TT.
2023
Science
Tawaraishi, T; Ochida, A; Akao, Y; Itono, S; Kamaura, M; Akther, T; Shimada, M; Canan, S; Chowdhury, S; Cao, Y; Condroski, K; Engkvist, O; FRANCISCO, A; Ghosh, S; Kaki, R; KELLY, JM; Kimura, C; Kogej, T; Nagaoka, K; Naito, A; Pairaudeau, G; Radu, C; Roberts, I; Shum, D; Watanabe, N-A; ... Perry, B.
2023
Journal of medicinal chemistry
FRANCISCO, AF; Saade, U; Jayawardhana, S; Pottel, H; Scandale, I; Chatelain, E; Liehl, P; KELLY, JM; Zrein, M;
2022
PLoS neglected tropical diseases
Ang, CW; Lee, BM; Jackson, CJ; Wang, Y; Franzblau, SG; FRANCISCO, AF; KELLY, JM; Bernhardt, PV; Tan, L; West, NP; Sykes, ML; Hinton, AO; Bolisetti, R; Avery, VM; Cooper, MA; Blaskovich, MA T;
2022
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Macleod, OJ S; Cook, AD; Webb, H; Crow, M; Burns, R; Redpath, M; Seisenberger, S; Trevor, CE; Peacock, L; Schwede, A; Kimblin, N; FRANCISCO, AF; Pepperl, J; Rust, S; Voorheis, P; Gibson, W; TAYLOR, MC; Higgins, MK; Carrington, M;
2022
Nature Communications