Aedes aegypti, commonly known as the yellow fever mosquito, is the major vector for the transmission of important arboviruses, including dengue and chikungunya viruses. Mosquito host responses suppress the replication of these viruses, which has direct consequences for their transmission to humans. Despite the great importance of the mosquito`s immune response, knowledge about the underlying molecular mechanisms is still incomplete. The aim of this PhD study was to discover and characterize new pathways that supress arbovirus replication in mosquitoes. The researchers showed that metabolic processes and transcriptional responses to infection play an important role in the infection of mosquitoes.
Samara Rosendo Machado (1991 – Recife, Brazil) obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at the HAN University of Applied Sciences in Nijmegen. She was awarded the Orange Tulip and RadboudUMC Scholarships for the Master’s program ‘Molecular Mechanisms of Disease’ at Radboud University. In 2017, she started her PhD project at the Radboud University Medical Center in the Experimental Virology research group.