Diogo Almeida
MSc StudentDiogo Almeida is a master's student working on the project "Field-Deployable Molecular Tools and Machine Learning for Environmental Monitoring of Animal Tuberculosis" supervised by Professor Mónica V. Cunha, leader of the Pathogen Biology and Global Health (PBGH) group at CE3C – Centre for Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Changes, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon. The main objective of this project is to develop a rapid and implement easy-to-use molecular diagnostic platform as a new way to detect members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in environmental and clinical samples. To this end, it proposes to integrate innovative diagnostic methodologies (based on LAMP, CRISPR-Cas and colourimetric tests) with environmental DNA (eDNA)-based surveillance and ecological modeling, using machine learning algorithms, to strengthen on site environmental monitoring and risk management of animal tuberculosis transmission in endemic areas.