Gonçalo is a Postdoctoral Researcher specializing in microbial and viral ecology. His research delves into understanding the immense influence microbes have on the health and function of the planet ecosystem using omics approaches.  At AIGHD, he is using state-of-the-art omic technologies and high-resolution longitudinal sampling to better understand of the mechanisms driving the emergence and proliferation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the infant microbiome development in low- and middle-income settings.

In today’s world, antimicrobial resistance stands as an imminent global health crisis, progressively undermining our capacity to combat bacterial infections. Gonçalo’s research is part of the GLORIA project (AMR-Global: Reducing inappropriate exposure to antibiotics) that takes on this challenge with a particular focus on communities in Zambia and Ghana. These communities are disproportionately affected by AMR, yet the ramifications of this issue are global.  GLORIA focuses on bridging the gap between antimicrobial usage, the resistome, and paediatric health and development.

Prior to his appointment at AIGHD, Gonçalo was a PhD candidate (nearing the completion) at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and University of Amsterdam (UvA), where he used infection experiments, metagenomics, microbial genomics and phylogenetics to characterize the diversity and impacts of viruses in polar marine ecosystems.