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Sandra López-Vergès : Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION BACKGROUND

 

2003 - 2007     Ph.D. in Microbiology option Basic Virology. Paris VII University, France – Summa cum laude "with the Jury congratulations"

2000 - 2003     Senior professional diploma (Magistère de Biologie-Biochimie). Ecole Normale Supérieure d’Ulm - Paris VII University, France -Magna cum laude

2001 - 2003     Master’s degree (Diplôme d’Études Approfondies and Maîtrise) in Biology-Biochemistry. Paris VII University, France - Summa cum laude

1998 - 2001     Bachelor's degree  (Licence) in Biochemistry. Paris VII University, France - Cum laude

 

 

COURSES

 

12-23/08/201313vo Curso Internacional de Dengue – Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Pedro Kourí” (IPK), Havana, Cuba

2002-2003       3 months Course in Basic Virology - Pasteur Institute - Paris VII University, France - Summa cum laude

 

 

RESEARCH INTERESTS

 

Pathogenesis of Viral Diseases: Virology, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, Viral and host Genetics, Epidemiology, Phylogenetics

 

 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

 

01/2012 – present    Researcher. Department of Research in Virology and Biotechnology, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health Studies (ICGES), Panama, Panama

Subjects: Study of the innate immune response in dengue infection, genetic evolution and pathogenesis of arboviruses in Panama.

 

09/2007 – 11/2011   Post-doctoral position. Dr. L. Lanier’s laboratory. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, U.S.A.

Subject: Human Natural Killer cells function in infectious diseases, focusing on the activating and inhibitory NK receptors functions during viral infections (HCMV and HIV).

 

09/2003 – 06/2007   Ph.D. Dr. R. Benarous’ laboratory. Department of Infectious Diseases, Institut Cochin, Paris, France

Ph.D. director: Dr.Clarisse Berlioz-Torrent

Subject: Characterization of cellular and viral partners of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein.

I discovered during my Ph.D. the first described cellular cofactor required for HIV envelope glycoprotein incorporation into new viral particles: TIP47. TIP47 is thus crucial for the formation of infectious HIV particles and for HIV propagation.

 

09/2002 - 09/2003    Dr. R. Benarous’ laboratory. Department of Infectious Diseases, Institut Cochin, Paris, France

Project director: Dr. Clarisse Berlioz-Torrent

Subject: Characterization of cellular and viral partners of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein.

 

01/2002 - 06/2002    Dr. C. Pique’s laboratory. Department of Cellular Biology, Institut Cochin, Paris, France

Subject: Characterization of cellular proteins implicated in HIV-1’s budding.

 

07/2001 - 09/2001    Dr. N. Landau’s group. The Salk Institute of Biological Studies, Infectious Diseases laboratory, La Jolla, U.S.A.

Subject: Study of the interaction between CCR5 and gp120 of HIV-1.

 

07/2000 - 09/2000      Dr. F. Goldstein's laboratory. Hôpital Saint-Joseph, Paris, France

Subject: Study of Staphylococcus aureus resistance to glycoprotein antibiotics.

 

07/1999 - 08/1999      Dr. D. M. Windsor. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Barro Colorado Island, Panama

Subject: Study of the spatio-temporal memory of the ant Ectatomma ruidum during hunting.

 

 

FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

 

08/2014 – 04/2015   UNESCO-L’ORÉAL International Fellowship for Women in Science -                                              2014 para la Región de América Latina y el Caribe

01/2014 – 12/2014         Gorgas Memorial Institute Research Award

05/2011                    2011 AAI Abstract Trainee Award - 98th AAI Annual Meeting -

Immunology 2011 TM

01/2011                    Keystone Symposia Scholarship for the Keystone Symposia, NK and NKT Cell Biology: Specificity and Redundancy of Innate Responses

01/2011                    UCSF Postdoctoral Travel Award for the Keystone Symposia, NK and NKT Cell Biology: Specificity and Redundancy of Innate Responses

02/2008 – 03/2011   Cancer Research Institute/Irvington Institute Fellowship for Post-doctoral

Training

06/2008                    Philippe Foundation Award for France-USA exchanges in science

10/2006 - 06/2007    FRM Fellowship (Fondation Recherche Médicale)for Ph.D. students

12/2005                    1st Place Award: Institut Cochin 14th Annual Meeting of Ph.D. Students– 2005

09/2003 - 09/2006    MENRT Fellowship (Ministère de l’Education Nationale, de la Recherche et de la Technologie)for Ph.D. students

09/2002 - 09/2003    Université Denis Diderot, Paris VII, Fellowship (Bourse au Mérite)for Master students

 

 

GRANTS

 

2012-2015             Convocatoria de Captación de Talentos Confirmados - Repatriación, SENACYT (Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación), Panama. 3 years, amount: $205,600. Role of Natural Killer (NK) cells in the response against Dengue virus. PI: Sandra López-Vergès, ICGES, Panama. Co-PIs: Juan Miguel Pascale, ICGES, Panama; Lewis L. Lanier, UCSF, USA; Eva Harris, UCB, USA. Note: At the end of this grant in November 2015, the repatriated investigator will become a permanent investigator in the home institution, ICGES, Panama.

 

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

1.       Moreno B., Díaz Y., Cisneros J., de Díaz G., Pascale JM., López-Vergès S.#, García M.# Evaluación de ELISA de captura para NS1 como nueva herramienta del diagnóstico temprano de la infección por dengue en Panamá (Spanish). Submitted.

 

2.       Du J., Zhou L., Lopez-Verges S., Lanier LL., Venstrom, JM. Rituximab circumvents the requirement for NK cell licensing. Submitted.

 

3.       Milush JM., Lopez-Vergès S., York VA., Deeks SG., Martin JN., Hecht FM., Lanier LL., and Nixon DF. CD56negCD16+ NK cells are activated mature NK cells with impaired effector function during HIV-1 infection. Retrovirology. 2013 Dec 18; 10(1):158. PMID: 24351015

 

4.       Carrera JP., Forrester N., Wang E., Vittor AY., Haddow A.,López-Vergès S., Abadía I., Castaño E.,Sosa N., Báez C., Estripeaut D., Díaz Y., Beltrán D., Cisneros J., Cedeño HG, Travassos Da Rosa AP., Hernandez H., Martínez Torres A., Tesh RB., Weaver SC. Eastern Equine Encephalitis in Latin America.N Engl J Med. 2013; 369:732-44. PMID: 23964935.

 

5.     Lopez-Vergès S.*, Ndhlovu LC.*, Barbour JD., Jones RB., Jha AR.,Long BR., Schoeffler EC., Fujita T., Nixon DF., and LanierLL. Tim-3 marks human natural killer cell maturation and supresses cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Blood. 2012 Apr 19;119(16):3734-43. Epub 2012 Mar 1.PMID: 22383801.

 

6.     Foley B., Cooley S., Verneris MR., Pitt M., Curtsinger J., Luo X., Lopez-Vergès S., Lanier LL., Weisdorf D., and Miller JS. Cytomegalovirus reactivation after allogeneic transplantation promotes a lasting increase in educated NKG2C+ natural killer cells with potent function. Blood. 2012 Mar 15;119(11):2665-74. Epub 2011 Dec 16. PMID: 22180440.

 

7.     Lopez-Vergès S., Milush JM., Schwartz BS., Pando MJ., Jarjoura J., York VA., Houchins JP., Miller S., Kang S-M., Norris PJ., Nixon DF., and Lanier LL. Expansion of a unique Natural Killer cell subset during acute human cytomegalovirus infection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Sep 6;108(36):14725-32. Epub 2011 Aug 8. PMID: 21825173.

 

8.     Lopez-Vergès S.*, Sun JC.*, Kim CC., DeRisi JL. and Lanier LL. NK cells and immune "memory". J Immunol. 2011 Feb 15;186(4):1891-7. Review. PMID: 21289313.

 

9.     Lopez-Vergès S., Milush JM., Pandey S., York VA., Arakawa-Hyot J., Pircher H., Norris PJ., Nixon DF. and Lanier LL. CD57 defines a functionally distinct population of mature NK cells in the human CD56dimCD16+ NK cell subset. Blood. 2010 Nov 11;116(19):3865-74. Epub 2010 Aug 23. PMID: 20733159.

 

10.  Lopez-Vergès, S.*, Bauby, H.*, Hoeffel, G., Delcroix-Genete, D., Janvier, K., Mammano, F., Hosmalin, A. and Berlioz-Torrent C. TIP47 is required for the production of infectious HIV-1 viruses from primary macrophages. Traffic. 2010 Apr;11(4):455-67. Epub 2010 Jan 11. PMID: 20070608.

 

11.  Bauby H., Lopez-Vergès S. and Berlioz-Torrent C. TIP47, un cofacteur cellulaire essentiel à l'incorporation de la glycoprotéine d'enveloppe du VIH-1 dans la particule virale. Virologie. 2008, Vol 12, N 3. Review (French). DOI: 10.1684/vir.2008.0172

 

12.  Estrabaud, E.*, Le Rouzic, E.*, Lopez-Vergès, S., Morel, M., Belaïdouni, N., Benarous, R., Transy, C., Berlioz-Torrent, C. and Margottin-Goguet F. Regulated degradation of the HIV-1 Vpu protein through a TrCP-independent pathway limits the release of viral particles. PLoS Pathog. 2007 Jul 27;3(7):e104. PMID: 17676996.

 

13.  Camus, G.*, Segura-Morales, C.*, Molle, D., Lopez-Vergès, S., Begon-Pescia, C., Cazevieille, C., Schu, P., Bertrand, E., Berlioz-Torrent, C. and Basyuk E. The clathrin adaptor complex AP-1 binds HIV-1 and MLV Gag and facilitates their budding. Mol Biol Cell. 2007 Aug;18(8):3193-203. Epub 2007 May 30. PMID: 17538020.

 

14.  Lopez-Vergès, S.*, Blot, G.*, Tréand, C., Kubat, NJ., Delcroix-Genête, D., Emiliani, S., Benarous, R. and Berlioz-Torrent C. Luman, a new partner of HIV-1 TMgp41, interferes with Tat-mediated transcription of HIV-1 LTR. J. Mol. Biol., 2006 Dec 15;364(5):1034-47. Epub 2006 Oct 3. PMID: 17054986.

 

15.  Lopez-Vergès, S., Camus, G., Blot, G., Beauvoir, R.,Benarous, R. and Berlioz-Torrent C.Tail-interacting proteinTIP47 is a connector between Gag and Env and is required for Env incorporation into HIV-1 virions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Oct 3;103(40):14947-52. Epub 2006 Sep 26. PMID: 17003132.

 

16.  Lopez-Vergès, S.*, Blot, V.*, Breton, M., Pique, C., Berlioz-Torrent, C. and Grange M-P. The conserved dileucine- and tyrosine-based motifs in MLV and MPMV envelope glycoproteins are both important to regulate a common Env intracellular trafficking. Retrovirology. 2006 Sep 15;3:62. PMID: 16978406.

 

*Co-first authors. # Contributed equaly to the work.

 

 

PATENTS

 

International patent: Methods for in vitro screening of compounds inhibiting production of infectious HIV-1 and compounds selected by said method. Deposited by INSERM the 05/10/2006: N°: 06 300 450.1, extended at 05/10/2007.N/REF: U040-EP.

Inventors: Berlioz-Torrent. C, Benarous. R, Lopez-Vergès, S.

 

 

INVITED ORAL PRESENTATIONS

 

INDICASAT-AIP, Panama, Panama. 05/11/2012. Role of the cellular cofactor TIP47 in HIV-1 Env incorporation.

Institut Cochin, Paris, France. 06/27/2012. Human NK cells and Cytomegalovirus infection.

 

 

ORAL PRESENTATIONS IN MEETINGS

 

López-Vergès S. Natural Killer (NK) cells in the response against dengue. Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Saludcelebrating its 85 years: “Veinticinco años de vigilancia del Dengue en Panamá” - II International meeting on Aedes aegypti control¿Por qué no podemos controlar el Aedes aegypti?, Situación actual y perspectivas futuras. November 18-21th 2013. Panama, Panama. Invited speaker.

López-Vergès S. Natural Killer (NK) cells in tropical viral diseases. Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud. III Simposio Anual Parasitología Molecular y Enfermedades Tropicales. August 2012. Panama, Panama. Invited speaker

 

López-Vergès S. Human NK cells and Cytomegalovirus Infection. AMLI (Association of Medical Laboratory Immunologists) 24th Annual Meeting - 2011. San Diego, California, USA. Invited speaker

 

Lopez-Vergès S., Milush JM., Schwartz BS., Jarjoura J., York VA., Pandey S., Houchins JP., Miller S., Kang S-M., Norris PJ., Nixon DF., and Lanier LL. A new subset of CD57+NKG2Chi NK cells is observed after HCMV infection. 98th AAI (American association of Immunologists) Annual Meeting - Immunology 2011 TM. San Francisco, California, USA. Oral & Poster.

 

Lopez-Vergès S., Milush JM., Schwartz BS., Jarjoura J., York VA., Pandey S., Houchins JP., Miller S., Kang S-M., Norris PJ., Nixon DF., and Lanier LL. A new subset of CD57+NKG2Chi NK cells is observed after HCMV infection. Keystone symposia, NK and NKT Cell biology: Specificity and redundancy of Innate responses. 2011. Breckenridge, Colorado, USA. Oral & Poster.

 

S. Lopez-Vergès, G. Camus, G. Blot, R. Beauvoir, R. Benarous and C. Berlioz-Torrent. Mechanism of action of TIP47 in HIV-1 envelope incorporation into virions. RETROVIRUSES 2006. CSH, New York, USA. Oral.

 

 

POSTER COMMUNICATIONS IN MEETINGS

 

Lopez-Vergès S., York VA., Deeks SG., Martin JN., Hecht FM., Lanier LL., Nixon DF and Milush JM. CD56negCD16+ NK cells are activated mature NK cells with impaired effector function during HIV-1 infection. The Society for Natural Immunity Meeting, NK2013. Heidelberg, Germany.

 

Lopez-Vergès S.*, Ndhlovu LC.*, Barbour JD., Jones RB., Jha AR.,Long BR., Schoeffler EC., Fujita T., Nixon DF., and LanierLL. Tim-3 on human natural killer cells supresses cell-mediated cytotoxicity. The Society for Natural Immunity Meeting. NK2012. Asilomar, California, USA.

 

Lopez-Vergès S., Milush JM., Schwartz BS., Jarjoura J., York VA., Pandey S., Houchins JP., Miller S., Kang S-M., Norris PJ., Nixon DF., and Lanier LL. A new subset of CD57+NKG2Chi NK cells is observed after HCMV infection. 1st Annual Bay Area Symposium on Viruses. Wheeler Center for Emerging & Neglected Diseases. 2011. University of California - Berkeley, California, USA.

 

Lopez-Vergès, S., Milush, J. M., Pandey S., Norris P., Nixon D. and L.L. Lanier. CD57 defines a functionally unique subset of NK cells in humans. The XVIIIth Meeting of the Cancer Research Institute, International Cancer Immunotherapy Symposium Series. 2009. New York, USA.

 

Lopez-Vergès, S., Milush, J. M., Pandey S., Norris P., Nixon D. and L.L. Lanier. CD57 defines a functionally unique subset of NK cells in humans. Immunology 2009, The 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI). Seattle, Washington, USA.

 

S. Lopez-Vergès, G. Camus, G. Blot, R. Beauvoir, R. Benarous and C. Berlioz-Torrent. TIP47: a connector between Gag and Env required for Env incorporation into HIV-1 virions. Congrès Jeunes Chercheurs en Biologie - Université René Descartes Paris V. 2006. Paris, France.

 

S. Lopez-Vergès, G. Camus, G. Blot, R. Beauvoir, R. Benarous and C. Berlioz-Torrent. TIP47 : une protéine essentielle pour l’infectivité du VIH-1. 1er Forum ANRS - 2006. Paris, France.

 

S. Lopez-Vergès, Blot, G., Tréand, C., Emiliani, S., Benarous, R. and C. Berlioz-Torrent. Luman, un cofacteur de la TMgp41, interfère avec la transcription du LTR du VIH-1 régulée par Tat. 1er Forum ANRS – 2006. Paris, France.

 

S. Lopez-Vergès, Blot, G., Tréand, C., Emiliani, S., Benarous, R. and C. Berlioz-Torrent. TMgp41 prevents the inhibition of HIV-1 replication induced by Luman, a transcription factor regulated by intramembrane proteolysis. 1er Congrès Jeunes Chercheurs de la Faculté de Médecine René Descartes Paris V- Sites Necker et Cochin. 2005. Paris, France.

 

Lopez-Vergès, S., Blot, G.,Tréand, C., Emiliani, S., Benarous, R. and C. Berlioz-Torrent. TMgp41 prevents the inhibition of HIV-1 replication induced by Luman, a transcription factor regulated by intramembrane proteolysis. RETROVIRUSES 2005. CSH, New York, USA.

 

ORAL and POSTER COMMUNICATIONS by COLLABORATORS

 

Gaitán M., Abrego L., Marlene C, López-Vergès S. Caracterización Molecular de Astrovirus en muestras de niños menores de cinco años del Hospital del Niño, Ciudad de Panamá. Ier Congreso Latinoamericano de Virología 19-21 Nov 2013, Bogotá, Colombia.

 

York VA., Milush JM., López-Vergès S., Deeks S., Martin J., Hecht F., Lanier LL., Nixon DF. CD56negCD16+ NK cells are mature NK cells generated from CD56+CD16+ NK cells during HIV-1 infection. 2013 Annual American Association of Immunologists Meeting and Centennial Celebration, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

 

Milush JM., López-Vergès S., York VA., Deeks S., Martin J., Hecht F., Lanier LL., Nixon DF. CD56negCD16+ NK cells result from chronic stimulation of CD56+CD16+ NK cells during HIV-1 infection. SIICA Italian Society of Immunology, Clinical immunology and Allergology, 2nd Conference of Translational Medicine on the Pathogenesis and Therapy of Immune-mediated diseases. 2012. Rozzano, Milan, Italia.

 

Díaz Y., Chen R., Carrera JP., Cisneros J., Beltrán D., Moreno B., Pascale JM., Tesh R., Lopez-Vergès S., Weaver S. Outbreak of Dengue type 2 in Panama, 2011. Third Pan American Dengue Research Network Meeting. 2012. Cartagena, Colombia.

 

Moreno B., Díaz Y., Cisneros J., López-Vergès S., de Díaz G., Pascale J.M., García M. Assessment of the ELISA to detect NS1, as a tool of early diagnosis of dengue infection in Panama. Third Pan American Dengue Research Network Meeting. 2012. Cartagena, Colombia.

 

Ndhlovu LC.*, Lopez-Vergès S.*, Barbour JD., Jones RB., Jha AR.,Long BR., Schoeffler EC., Fujita T., Nixon DF., and LanierLL. Tim-3 on human natural killer cells supresses cell-mediated cytotoxicity. World Immune Regulation meeting-VI. 2012. Davos, Switzerland.

 

Foley B., Verneris M., Cooley S., Lopez-Vergès S., Lanier LL., Weisdorf D., Miller JS. Natural Killer (NK) Cells Respond to CMV Reactivation After Allogeneic Transplantation by an Increase in NKG2C+CD57+ Self-KIR+ NK Cells with Potent IFN Production. 2011 ASH (The American Society of Hematology) Annual Meeting. San Diego, California, USA.

 

Milush JM., Lopez-Vergès S., York VA., Lanier LL., and Nixon DF. CD7+CD56negCD16+ NK cells have an intermediate maturation and functional profile compared to CD56+CD16+ NK cells.Keystone symposia, NK and NKT Cell biology: Specificity and redundancy of Innate responses. 2011. Breckenridge, Colorado, USA.

 

Ndhlovu LC., Barbour JD., Jones RB., Lopez-Vergès S.,Jha AR.,Long BR., OstrowskiMA., LanierLL. and Nixon DF. Differential Expression of Human Tim-3 Marks Natural Killer Cell Maturation Status. Keystone symposia, NK and NKT Cell biology: Specificity and redundancy of Innate responses. 2011. Breckenridge, Colorado, USA.

 

NdhlovuLC., Lopez-VergèsS., Barbour JD., Jones RB., JhaAR.,LongBR., OstrowskiMA., Lanier LL., NixonDF. Differential Expression of Human Tim-3 Marks Natural Killer Cell Maturation Status and Predicts Cytolytic Function. 14th International Congress of Immunology (ICI) meeting. Kansai, Japan.

 

Lopez-Vergès, S.*, Bauby, H.*, Hoeffel, G., Janvier, K., Mamano, F., Hosmalin, A. and C. Berlioz-Torrent. TIP47 promotes the efficient release of infectious HIV-1 from the assembly compartment of macrophages. The 2008 meeting on RETROVIRUSES. Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA. Oral.

 

Lopez-Vergès, S.*, Bauby, H.*, Hoeffel, G., Janvier, K., Mamano, F., Hosmalin, A. and C. Berlioz-Torrent. TIP47 promotes the efficient release of infectious HIV-1 from the assembly compartment of macrophages. Forum Clinique ANRS - 2008. Paris, France.

 

C. Segura-Morales, G. Camus, D. Molle, S. Lopez-Vergès, C. Begon-Pescia, P. Schu, E. Bertrand, C. Berlioz-Torrent, and E. Basyuk. Function of the clathrin adaptor complex AP-1 in MLV budding. The 2007 meeting on RETROVIRUSES. Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA.

 

G. Camus, C. Segura-Morales, D. Molle, S. Lopez-Vergès, C. Begon-Pescia, P. Schu, E. Bertrand, E. Basyuk, and C. Berlioz-Torrent.The clathrin adaptor complex AP-1 binds HIV-1 Gag and facilitates its budding.The 2007 meeting on RETROVIRUSES. Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA. Oral.

 

E. Estrabaud*, E. Le Rouzic*, S. Lopez-Vergès, M. Morel, N. Belaïdouni, R. Benarous, C. Transy, C. Berlioz-Torrentand F. Margottin-Goguet. Regulated degradation of the HIV-1 Vpu protein through a bTrCP-independent pathway limits the release of viral particles. The 2007 meeting on RETROVIRUSES. Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA. Oral.

 

E. Estrabaud, E. Le Rouzic, S. Lopez-Vergès, N. Belaïdouni, M. Morel, C. Transy, R. Benarous, C. Berlioz-Torrent and F. Margottin-Goguet. Cell cycle progression modulates HIV-1 Vpu protein activity. RETROVIRUSES 2006. CSH, New York, USA.

 

E. Estrabaud, E. Le Rouzic, S. Lopez-Vergès, N. Belaïdouni, M. Morel, C. Transy, R. Benarous, C. Berlioz-Torrent and F. Margottin-Goguet. Phosporylation et dégraddation de la protéine Vpu du virus VIH-1 au cours du cycle cellulaire. 1er Forum ANRS - 2006. Paris, France.

 

S. Lopez-Vergès, G. Camus, R. Beauvoir, R. Benarous and C. Berlioz-Torrent. TIP47: a protein essential for the HIV-1 Env incorporation. CROI 2006. Denver, USA.

 

S. Lopez-Vergès, G. Camus, R. Beauvoir, R. Benarous and C. Berlioz-Torrent. TIP47: a protein essential for the HIV-1 infectivity. 17th International Workshop on Retroviral Pathogenesis. 2005. St Malo, France. Oral.

 

Blot G., Lopez-Vergès S., Benarous R, and Berlioz-Torrent C. Luman, a Cyclic AMP Response Element (CRE)-Binding Protein/Activating Transcription Factor, A New Partner of the Cytoplasmic Domain of HIV-1 TMgp41. 2nd IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment (2003). Paris, France.

 

*Equal work.

 

PARTICIPATION IN CONGRES AS AUDIENCE

 

Simposia: Impact of equine encephalitis in public health and veterinary. 5-6/06/2012. Panamá, Panamá.

 

 

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

 

2013- Present          American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH)

2012- Present        Asociación Panameña para el avance de la Ciencia (APANAC)

2012- Present        Society for Natural Immunity (SNI)

2012- Present        American Association of Immunologists (AAI)

2009 - 2011           Training Memberof the American Association of Immunologists

 

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

 

02/2013-present     Ph.D advisor for thegraduate program  Doctorate en Biotechnology, Indicasat-AIP Panamá and Nagarjuna University, India.

07/2013-12/2013   Professor in Immunology, School of Medicine, Columbus University, Panamá

27/08 and 08/10/2013 Invited speaker to give Immunology classes– Master in Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Universidad de Panamá, Panama.

18/06/2012             Invited speaker to give class on Phagocitosis – General Microbiology part B,                 Bachelor degree in Nursing, Nursing School, Universidad de Panamá, Panama.

 

 

MENTORSHIP

 

ICGES, Panama, Panama

05/2012 - present: Final thesis for Bachelor in Biology diploma: Mario Quijada and Yenesis Jordan, Universidad de Panama, Panama

05/2012 – 10/2012: Technical mentorship: Stanley Chen, M.D.

 

UCSF, San Francisco, U.S.A.

2011:Kattria von der Ploeg - Master student, 7 months

2009: Gabriel Reyes - BMS Rotation student, 6 weeks

 

Institut Cochin, Paris, France

2003 - 2007: - BSL3 training: Grégory Camus and Emilie Estrabaud - Master’s students, Roxane Beauvoir - Research Assistant, and Hélène Bauby - Post-doctoral fellow.

- Technical mentorship: Roxane Beauvoir - Technician (1 year), and Grégory                  Camus - Master’s student (9 months).

 

 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

 

2012-present           Reviewer for the journal Immunology.

03/2012-present     Member of the Organization Committee of the Gorgas Memorial Institute’s Annual Meeting, Panama

2012                      Organization of the Simposia “Emergent and reemergent viruses in     Panamá” during the XIV Congreso Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de APANAC, October 17-20th 2012, Panama

03/2008-06/2010   Organization of Post-doctoral seminar sessions for the Department of Immunology and Microbiology of the University of California San Francisco, U.S.A.

2003-2005             Organization of monthly seminars from Ph.D. students in the Infectious Diseases Department, Institut Cochin, Paris, France

 

 

LANGUAGE SKILLS

 

Bilingual French - Spanish.

English: fluent