OUR TEAM

MARIA E. FRANCIA

GROUP LEADER

Maria began studying biology at the public University in Uruguay where she taught General Chemistry, and discovered her passion for teaching. She then moved to the USA where she got a degree and a Master's in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Idaho. Maria earned a PhD for work on parasite biology at the University of Georgia with Dr. Boris Striepen. She then moved on for a postdoc at the Cell Cycle Regulation Laboratory at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, in Portugal. She joined the faculty of the School of Medicine at the Public University in Uruguay in 2018, and began her journey as an independent researcher in 2019 at the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo. Maria is also interested in photography, is a certified yoga instructor and loves traveling, cooking and running. Maria is married to an Agronomist. They have a daughter, and four dogs. Maria is committed to fostering women participation in science and supporting the development of basic science through science communication with non-scientists.

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LUISA BERNÁ, PHD

SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Luisa leads all of our bioinformatics-related endeavors. She´s particularly experienced in long read sequencing genome assembly and annotation. She is interested in identifying genome rearrangements in the mitochondria of Apicomplexans and their correlation with virulence and adaptation. Luisa is also an assistant professor at the Biomathematics Department in the School of Sciencie, Universidad de la Republica.

Luisa is also a mom of two, loves traveling, riding a bike, and has a fantastic sense of humor.

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PAULA FARAL-TELLO, PHD

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Paula's research is focused on deciphering the mechanisms of verticl transmission by T. gondii and N. caninum. She's interested in pursuing in vitro models for mimicking the maternal-fetal interface.

Paula is a mom of two. She´s passionate about social justice and access to equal rights, and leads the institutional group of junior researchers and technicians.

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SOFIA HORJALES, PHD

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Sofia's postdoctoral research is focused on identifying new components of the centrosome of T. gondii responsible for its intracellular proliferation. Sofia is also an associate professor at the Technological University (UTEC), teaching courses on reserch and innovation.

Sofia is a mom of two boys, and a proud dog and cat owner.

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FLORENCIA SENA, PHD

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Florencia's postdoctoral project is focused on developing tools to obtain and characterize the sexual stages of T. gondii in vitro. Florencia is also an assistant professor at the School of Agronomy where she teaches molecular biology and Biochemistry. She's also our plant-specialist in the lab, making sure the lab stays green and colorful, and always warm.

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LEANDRO TANA, MSc.

DOCTORAL STUDENT

Leandro is interested in the impact of apicomplexan-caused diseases on animal health. His PhD work focuses on isolating strains of T. gondii and understanding the impact of genetic diversity on disease burden.

Leandro is originally from Ecuador. He is also our official lab's logo designer.

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ALEJANDRA VALENTIN

LAB TECHNICIAN - UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT

Alejandra is responsible for keeping the lab afloat. She manages purchasing and stocking. Her research focuses on genetic typing of T. gondii strains present in human infections. She is also a teaching assistant at the Department of Parasitology at the school of Medicine, where she does research on enteric protozoan parasites, with a particular focus on Blastocystis spp.

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