Celso Cunha
Associate Professor
Institute of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, University of Lisbon
Portugal
Biography
Celso Cunha has his expertise in biology and pathology of Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis D (HDV) virus infections. He uses molecular and cellular biology approaches to understand fundamental aspects of virus replication and pathogenesis mechanisms. In the last years he made use of proteomic methodologies to understand the main metabolic pathways affected by replication of HDV. In addition, he has been exploring several in vitro and in vivo systems to detect host cell factors that interact with virus components and may be involved in virus replication. The combination of these approaches may help finding potential targets for a specific therapy which is still lacking, especially in the case of HDV. He leads a small research group with collaborations established in Portugal and several foreign countries. The main research interest concerns the replication of hepatitis B and D viruses with special emphasis on host interaction. He is the co-author of about 40 publications in international journals. Celso Cunha is a member of the editorial board of the World Journal of Virology. In 2001, he was awarded the Ricardo Jorge Prizes of Public Health and Laura Ayres of Microbiology / Communicable Diseases.
Research Interest
Infectious Diseases,Tropical Medicine, Public Health Replication of hepatitis B and D viruses with special emphasis on host interaction.