Maria N Pereira is a PhD student, of Angolan nationality.

She has a degree in Medicine from the Agostinho Neto University / Angola and a specialist in Intensive Care from University of São Paulo / Brazil. She works at Clínica Multiperfil / Luanda-Angola. She is currently attending the four-year Doctoral Course in Biomedical Sciences at the Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário (CESPU) in Gandra-Porto / Portugal, with the PhD thesis research project at ICVS.
Specifically, Maria N Pereira is focused on mapping the scenario of resistance to antimalarial therapy in Angola.
Her doctoral project has four objectives:

1- Studying the therapeutic efficacy of Artemether-Lumefantrine through prospective evaluation of clinical and parasitological responses according to WHO guidelines;
2- Map the genetic diversity and in vitro response to drugs in floating parasites in Angola;
3- Evaluate the clinical outcome and the in vitro response to drugs with the genetic profile of the parasites to reveal new biomarkers of resistance;
4- Validate potential resistance biomarkers through P. falciparum gene editing approaches.

The results of this work will contribute to drug resistance surveillance, providing information for malaria control in Angola and gaining experience in the field of experimental research and global health.