Rate My Professor Joana Sa Pessoa

Dr Joana Sa Pessoa, affiliated with Queen's University Belfast's School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences and the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, is a leading researcher in bacterial infection biology. Holding a PhD in Molecular Biology, her doctoral research characterized the structure-function relationships of carboxylate transporters in model organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, and Aspergillus nidulans, identifying critical residues essential for transporter function through integrated biochemical, functional, and biophysical analyses. Since joining Queen's University Belfast in March 2014 as a postdoctoral research fellow under Professor José A. Bengoechea, she has focused on the mechanisms employed by Gram-negative bacteria, particularly Klebsiella pneumoniae, to evade and subvert host innate immune responses. Her work has elucidated sophisticated anti-immunology strategies, including the pathogen's ability to reduce host SUMOylation to impair defense responses, hijack the Toll-IL-1R protein SARM1 in a type I IFN-dependent manner, and deploy type VI secretion system effectors like VgrG4 to induce mitochondrial fragmentation and activate NLRX1 for infection promotion. Sa Pessoa served as Researcher Co-Investigator on a BBSRC-funded project exploring how K. pneumoniae exploits eukaryotic-like effector proteins to antagonize host defenses.

Sa Pessoa's contributions are evidenced by her highly cited publications, including the seminal review 'Klebsiella pneumoniae infection biology: living to counteract host defences' (FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 2019; 775 citations), 'A Klebsiella pneumoniae antibiotic resistance mechanism that subdues host defences and promotes virulence' (EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2017; 266 citations), 'Klebsiella pneumoniae type VI secretion system-mediated microbial competition is PhoPQ controlled and reactive oxygen species dependent' (PLoS Pathogens, 2020; 143 citations), 'Modelling the gastrointestinal carriage of Klebsiella pneumoniae infections' (mBio, 2023; 55 citations), and 'A trans-kingdom T6SS effector induces the fragmentation of the mitochondrial network and activates innate immune receptor NLRX1 to promote infection' (Nature Communications, 2023; 55 citations). Beyond research, she has been Co-Chair of the PRISM LGBT+ Staff Network, engaged in public outreach via Native Scientists, and supervised research assistants. Her multidisciplinary approach bridging cellular microbiology, immunology, and molecular biology has advanced understanding of respiratory infections like pneumonia and sepsis caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens.