Dr. Leandro Lobo

Brief Biography:

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My name is Leandro Lobo, and I am currently a visiting professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I am working in the anaerobic bacteriology lab, where I started my career as an undergraduate. We are focusing on several aspects of the interaction of intestinal anaerobes with the human host. We have several projects with Clostridium difficile, including epidemiological studies, microbiota composition on CDAD and characterization S-Layer. In a different front, we also investigate the interaction of Bacteroides ssp with extracellular matrix proteins, genetic regulation related to antimicrobial resistance and outer membrane proteomic studies. Prior to this appointment, I was a postdoc in East Carolina University, working with Dr. Edson Rocha and Dr. Jeff Smith, where I studied bacterial hemolysins/cytolysins. I did my PhD at the University of Helsinki under Dr. Timo Korhonen, studying the interaction of Gram negative enteric pathogens with extracellular matrix proteins. A subject similar to the topic of my master thesis, except that I worked with the interaction of anaerobic bacteria, mainly Bacteroides ssp, with extracellular matrix proteins.

Academic positions:

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2009 – present date Visiting Professor. Institute of Microbiology, The Federal university of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 2007 – 2009 Research associate. The role and function of Hemolysins/Cytolysins in the pathogenicity of B. fragilis. Advisor: Dr. Edson R. Rocha East Carolina University, Greenville,USA 2006 – 2007 Pos-doctoral research. Production of recombinant biopharmaceuticals in culture cells. Advisor: Dr. Leda Castilho, Chemical engineering program, COPPE, The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Research interests:

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Bacterial pathogenesis, virulence factors, bacterial adhesion and invasion, commensalism, opportunistic pathogens, protein chemistry, proteomics, protein purification and refolding. Currently I have several projects under my supervision. We study the role of transcriptional regulators of the Mar-family during oxidative stress response in Bacteroides ssp, and the importance of these regulators in antimicrobial resistance. We are also working on the elucidation of the outer membrane proteome of Bacteroides fragilis under diverse environmental stresses. As I mentioned, we have several projects involving the pathogenesis of Clostridium difficile, including epidemiological studies, microbiota composition on CDAD and characterization S-Layer. In a different front, we are involved in the development of bioremediation tools to treat oil impacted environment. Our goal is to isolate anaerobic bacteria with metabolic activity towards hidrocarbons.

What I think of the idea behind WebmedCentral:

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I believe that the peer-reviewed process, which is one of the most fundamental and importance institution in science, has lost what should be its principal characteristic: neutrality. with human knowledge advances in the past centuries, science has become a very profitable and competitive area. Researchers are constantly under pressure to publish, and it has become the single most important factor in determining where funding is directed and employment decision in research institutions. Several authors working in basic science and important discoveries are being left aside. The scientific community as a whole should have a saying on what papers should be published, not only a few selected scientists. Furthermore, the peer-reviewed and publication systems have not accompanied the advances in technology that allow us to broadcast our results much faster and keep the quality of scrutinization found in traditional publications. I believe WMC is an important initiative to change the way peer-reviewed publications are processed nowadays, giving the chance to starting scientists communicate their findings and receive the appropriate input. It is also an important update on the method through which scientific authors are reviewed.

Home Page:

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http://www.microbiologia.ufrj.br/