Jaqueline Goes
Life Sciences
As a child, biomedical scientist Jaqueline Goes would never have imagined that one day she would have a doll in her image and likeness. After leading the Brazilian team that sequenced the Sars-CoV-2 virus in 48 hours in 2021, she received a tribute from the Mattel toy factory: Dr. Jaqueline Goes Inspiring Women Barbie® doll.
With a degree in biomedicine from the Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health, Jaqueline also holds a master’s degree in health biotechnology and investigative medicine from the Gonçalo Moniz Research Institute (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation) and a doctorate in human pathology from the Federal University of Bahia. Her project covers an important and understudied process in virus outbreaks: the mobility corridors between Brazil and Angola.
A true inspiration to scientists and children alike, Jaqueline enjoys long urban walks to relax and dancing forró. And despite the importance of her research for public health, she confesses that she still makes time to pursue a childhood dream: learning to play the piano.
Projects
The transmission of pathogens between well-connected countries such as Angola and Brazil is expected to increase over time due to the increase in air travel, urbanization, and climate change. This could lead to future epidemic outbreaks. The transmission of strains of the Chikungunya and Zika viruses between the two countries, for example, has already led to explosive epidemics. However, this route of transmission is poorly uunderstood, due to the lack of suitable diagnostic tools and representative data in both regions. The extensive human mobility and synchronized vector ecologies in these countries make them important target sites for combined surveillance, which will increase our current understanding of the dynamics of the emergence and spread of unknown pathogens in these gateways. Thus, this proposal aims to elucidate the circulation and spread of arboviruses and other unknown pathogens through these gateways.
