Dr. Barbara Porto is an assistant professor in medical microbiology and infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba. Her research focuses on the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis associated to respiratory viral infections.
Dr. Porto studied Biological Sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. She then completed her graduate work at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), working on the molecular mechanisms of neutrophil activation triggered by sterile inflammation. Back to her hometown, Dr. Porto held a post-doctoral fellowship at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul working with innate immunity to respiratory syncytial virus infection.
Dr. Porto has also worked as an adjunct professor at the same university, where she supervised four graduate and nine undergraduate students and taught different courses for graduate students.
In Toronto, Canada, Dr. Porto held a post-doctoral fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children, also working on innate immunity to respiratory syncytial virus infection.
Dr. Porto has been frequently contributing as a peer reviewer to high impact scientific journals and to international funding agencies. As a recognition of her contribution to high quality research in Brazil, Dr. Porto was awarded with the Research Productivity Award by the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development.
Education
- PhD in Microbiology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2009)
- Masters in Experimental Pathology, Fluminense Federal University, Brazil (2005)
- Specialization Course, Applied Toxicology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (2002)
- Biological Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (1999)
Awards
- Research Productivity Award, National Council of Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil (2018)
- Travel Award for the 15th International Congress of Immunology (Milan, Italy), National Council of Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil (2013)
- Travel Award for the American Thoracic Society International Conference (San Francisco, USA), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Brazil (2012)