Tuberculosis Vaccines

Paulo J. G. Bettencourt holds a BSc in Biotechnology from ISHT in Lisbon, Portugal, a Master's degree in Immunology and Immunogenetics from the University of Manchester, UK, and a PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. He completed seven years of post-doctoral research in Vaccinology at the renowned Jenner Institute at Oxford University, UK, where the ChAdOx1-S/nCoV-19 vaccine against COVID-19, and the R21 vaccine against malaria were developed.

Currently, he is an Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator, Director of the Research and Teaching Laboratories, and Coordinator of the MSc in Immunology and Vaccinology, at the new Faculty of Medicine at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), which he co-founded. Additionally, he was appointed as the coordinator of the platform CatólicaMed at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, at UCP.

His postdoctoral research has led to the identification of three new candidate antigens for TB vaccines, currently in preclinical development. Prof. Bettencourt's current research is focused on three main areas: 1) the interaction between pathogens and the immune system focusing on the discovery of antigens using immunopeptidomics, 2) the translation of fundamental immunology into the design of mRNA vaccines against TB, malaria, and Staphylococcus aureus infections, and 3) the impact of Vaccination in Global Health.

Through the combination of immunology and vaccinology, Prof. Bettencourt aims to contribute to the development of innovative medical interventions with significant importance and impact for humanity.