Odette Ferreira

Maria Odette Santos Ferreira (born June 4, 1925 in Lisbon ; † October 7, 2018 ) was a Portuguese professor of microbiology who played an important role in HIV research.

Early life

Maria Odette Santos Ferreira was born in Lisbon in 1925. Her grandfather was the owner of the first pharmacy on the island of Bolama in Guinea-Bissau , and her father worked there as a civil servant. Ferreira moved to Guinea at the age of three months and returned to Portugal at the age of 10 to attend the Colégio Moderno.

education

After Odette Ferreira had completed her bachelor's degree, she had to postpone her further academic education. The University of Lisbon's Faculty of Pharmacy had been closed since 1932, and the only other institute that offered a degree in pharmacy was in Porto . However, Ferreira's father forbade her to study alone in Porto. In 1968 the pharmaceutical faculty in Lisbon was reopened, which finally made it possible for Ferreira to resume her studies and successfully complete her in 1970. She then became an assistant professor at the University of Lisbon, where she was responsible for the practical teaching of microbiology , bacteriology and virology . Shortly thereafter, she was invited to do a three-month internship at the Pasteur Institute in Paris . After completing the internship, during which she was made aware of the techniques for identifying the AIDS virus , she began her doctorate on the subject of nosocomial infection and completed her doctorate in 1077 at the University of Paris-South .

Career

In the 1970s, Ferreira began working with the Pasteur Institute to conduct an epidemiological study of hospital infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa observed in hospitals in Lisbon . Their studies led to the identification of Portuguese lysotypes that were not previously categorized. After the Carnation Revolution (April 25, 1974), in which the authoritarian Estado Novo government was overthrown, she assumed various roles in the restructuring of the University of Lisbon as a member of the Administrative Council and the Pedagogical Council.

In the 1980s Ferreira worked continuously with the Pasteur Institute, where she developed detection techniques for the HIV-1 lymphadenopathy -associated virus (LAV), one of the etiological pathogens of HIV. She was responsible for diagnosing the first AIDS cases in Portugal, including the case of António Variações , a famous Portuguese singer. In September 1985 she flew from Lisbon to Paris with test tubes in her coat. She held them close to her body to keep the blood at body temperature, which is necessary to maintain the stability of the samples. The blood came from a patient from Guinea-Bissau who had been admitted to the Egas Moniz Hospital in Lisbon. People in Guinea-Bissau were known to have AIDS, but researchers couldn't find antibodies to HIV-1 in their blood. The research she carried out at the Pasteur Institute with Nobel Prize winners Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier over the next two weeks culminated in the identification of a new AIDS virus, HIV-2, and paved the way for comparative studies between HIV- 1 and HIV-2.

From then on, all of her scientific work was concentrated on the investigation of HIV / AIDS infection, especially the less virulent HIV-2. Her discovery of HIV-2, its epidemiology and diagnosis, made in collaboration with the Pasteur Institute and with José Luís Champalimaud of Egas Moniz Hospital, revolutionized the world of serological diagnosis and helped the Retrovirus and Associated Infections Unit (( CPM) -RIA) at the University of Lisbon to expand and focus important research lines in the field of retroviruses . Following this discovery, Ferreira and Champalimaud were invited to become advisors to the World Health Organization (WHO) AIDS program .

Ferreira became Professor of Microbiology at the University of Lisbon in 1986 and played an important role in creating the university's microbiology laboratory. In 1992 she was appointed coordinator of the Portuguese National Program to Fight AIDS, a position she held until 2000. Under her the project “Say no to a used syringe” was introduced. Due to a partnership between the Ministry of Health and the National Association of Pharmacies, this project was developed simultaneously in around 2500 pharmacies across Portugal. By collecting 43 million used syringes between 1993 and 2008, the risk of intravenous transmission of HIV and other communicable diseases ( hepatitis B and hepatitis C ) to drug addicts was successfully reduced. Other projects with a significant impact included the establishment of anonymous and free screening centers and the establishment of a center in Lisbon to advise, analyze, consult and protect sex workers.

The work of the national program has saved an estimated several thousand lives. Ferreira visited drug addicts and prostitutes and made them aware of the need to exchange syringes and use condoms. Protesting the “stupidity of fear”, she did not hesitate to hug and kiss HIV positive people, even when personally ostracized by people who believed the AIDS virus was spreading like influenza . She sponsored several home support services coordinated by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa solidarity project and the construction of a residence to support AIDS patients through palliative care (Residência Madre Teresa de Calcutá).

Awards

In 1975 the French government named Ferreira Chevalier des Ordre des Palmes Académiques for her role in strengthening scientific cooperation between Portugal and France , and in 1987 she was made Knight of the Legion of Honor for her work on HIV . In Portugal in 1988 she was appointed commander of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword (Portuguese: Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada). The Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES) awarded her the Medal of Merit in 2016 for her “valuable and exceptional contribution to the development of science or scientific culture in Portugal”. The Order of Pharmacists ( Ordem dos Farmacêuticos ) recognized her achievements by awarding her the Medal of Honor and the Gold Medal in 2012. In 2010, the Order of Pharmacists launched a scientific research award, which was awarded the “Scientific Research Award Professor Maria Odette Santos-Ferreira”. One award that made her particularly happy was the use of her name on a conference room in the Faculty of Pharmacy.

Odette Ferreira died on October 7, 2018. She donated her professional property to the Lisbon Pharmacy Museum. An exhibition of her work was in preparation with her participation at the time of her death and took place in the museum from February 21, 2019.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Nobre, Sandra .: Uma luta, uma vida: nem precisava de tanto . Sopa de Letras, Parede 2014, ISBN 978-972-8708-87-0 .
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Odette Ferreira. In: ILCML - Crossing Bodies in Sciences and Art. 2018, accessed on July 8, 2020 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Ordem das Farmacêuuticos: Odette Ferreira (1925-2018). Ordem dos Farmacêuticos, accessed June 29, 2020 (Portuguese). 
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} Sandra Costa: A segunda vida de Odette. Retrieved June 29, 2020 . 
5. ^ ^{A b} Teresa Firmino: Odette Ferreira (1925-2018), pioneira na investigação e luta contra a sida. Retrieved June 29, 2020 .