8. Ana Oliveira

Project Title and Work Package(s): Identification of sensory elements of the L. monocytogenes stressosome and elucidation of role in virulence (WP2, WP3)

Objectives: To: (1) identify novel binding partners for RsbR and its paralogues using a two-hybrid approach and a genetic screen; (2) establish the role for these interactions in stress tolerance and in virulence, both in human cell lines and in a chick embryo model; (3) use a genetic approach to elucidate the mechanistic basis for the overlap between PrfA-controlled virulence and the σB-regulated stress response in L. monocytogenes.

Expected Results: Identification of new interactions between the L. monocytogenes stressosome and regulatory proteins. Understand the role of these interactions in the physiology and virulence of this pathogen. A comprehensive model explaining the overlap between virulence and the general stress response in L. monocytogenes.

Personal Statement

My name is Ana Oliveira and I am from Aveiro, Portugal. I am a recently graduated Biologist, and I am currently doing my PhD at the Department of Molecular Biology, at Umeå University (Sweden). 

My main research interests are microbiology, specifically molecular microbiology, but I also find other areas interesting as well, like environmental microbiology, genomes, immunology, virology, the microbiome research, etc.

I have been involved in two main research areas : 1) Photodynamic inactivation of microbial biofilms using natural photosensitizers and 2) An investigation into the molecular strategies used by Listeria monocytogenes to sense and respond to visible light stress. The first was my 3rd year annual research project, supervised by Dra Ângela Cunha in the Laboratory of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, at the Biology Department of University of Aveiro (Portugal), from September 2015 – June 2016. During this project I investigated the effects of Photodynamic Inactivation (PDI) on several pathogens (bacterial and fungal), including Listeria innocua, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Botrytis cinerea and Lasiodiplodia. 

My second project, part of my 4th year internship, was carried out in the Bacterial Stress Response Group, NUI Galway (Republic of Ireland), which conducts leading research in Listeria monocytogenes. The aim of this project was to investigate the role of the stressosome in the stress response in Listeria, with a focus towards light, ethanol, acid and salt. For example, this project gave me several skills, like getting familiarized with Western Blotting technique, qRT-PCR, biofilm assays, etc.

My current PhD project consists in: Dissecting the stress-sensory system in Listeria monocytogenes, and aims to decipher the function of stress-sensory mechanisms, important for bacterial growth at adverse conditions.