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Joana Isabel Reis Castro

Centre of Biological Engineering · University of Minho

https://researchid.co/castro.j
@uminho.pt
57Scopus Publications
3062Google Scholar Citations
30Google Scholar h-index
49Google Scholar i10-index

Research Interests

Bacterial biofilms; Bacterial Vaginosis; Antimicrobial resistance; Virulence; Gardnerella; Gene expression; Medicinal Plants;

Biography

Joana Castro graduated in Biomedical Engineering by Minho University (December 2012). She performed her master thesis in a Bacterial Vaginosis project. After concluding her master thesis, she became a research fellow in the same project. In 2014, she was awarded for a PhD Grant by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and enrolled a Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences, from Abel Salazar Institute Sciences (ICBAS). During her PhD, Joana explored the phenotypical differences between Gardnerella vaginalis isolates from healthy women or women with BV, in order to better understand the etiology of BV. She performed the work in collaboration with University of Minho and Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA. She finished her PhD on 28th November 2018. In addition, she became a member to Agência de Avaliação e Acreditação do Ensino Superior (A3ES), participating in diverse audits.

Education

Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, University of Porto MSc in Biomedical Engineering, University of Minho

Recent Scopus Publications

  1. Antimicrobial Resistance in the Food Chain: Bridging Knowledge Gaps for Effective Detection and Control
    Antibiotics, 2026
  2. Evidence from a broad-range PNA probe links several Prevotella species to bacterial vaginosis
    Peerj, 2026
  3. Editorial: Perspectives in clinical infectious diseases: 2024/2025
    Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2026
  4. Students' summer internships in a research centre: The impact on scientific literacy and the choice of a career in the STEM fields
    Heliyon, 2025
  5. Laboratory Models for Biofilm Studies
    Microbial Biofilm Dynamics Contemporary Approaches Models and Analytical Tools, 2025

Grants / Consultancy

FCT Grant SFRH/BD/93963/2013 – Determining the pathogenic potential of commensal and clinical Gardnerella vaginalis isolates None

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