Rúbens Prince dos Santos Alves

I am currently a Principal Investigator at the Institut Pasteur de São Paulo, where I lead the Laboratory for Genomic Surveillance and Vaccine Innovation. My work focuses on a cutting-edge project involving wastewater surveillance of the Influenza virus to enable timely and innovative approaches in RNA vaccine development.My academic journey began with a master's degree in virology, biotechnology, and molecular biology (2013 and 2015), which provided a strong foundation for my efforts in vaccine development, particularly against the dengue virus. During my Ph.D., I advanced this work by developing mouse models and DNA vaccines targeting dengue and Zika viruses. This included a collaborative year at Shresta's Lab at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (La Jolla, California, USA), where I studied CD4 T cells and cross-immunity between Zika and dengue.As a postdoctoral fellow, I expanded my research to coronaviruses and other arboviruses, utilizing human-relevant (transgenic and humanized) animal models to explore infection dynamics and immune responses. My recent projects have centered on developing self-amplifying mRNA vaccines to create broad-spectrum protection against flaviviruses and coronaviruses. These efforts are instrumental in advancing vaccine technology to combat emerging infectious diseases and safeguard global health.Now, through my role at the Institut Pasteur de São Paulo, I am integrating genomic surveillance with vaccine innovation to address public health challenges posed by influenza and beyond. (Fonte: Currículo Lattes)