Ana Sousa Manso

Ana Sousa Manso has a diverse work experience that spans various roles and industries. Starting in 2007, they interned at Azienda Ospedaliera San Paolo, where they conducted research on childhood insulin resistance and obesity. In 2008, they worked as a Research Fellow at ITQB-UNL, managing and executing a collaborative project to optimize an in-vivo NMR system for studying S. aureus metabolism and antibiotic resistance. From 2010 to 2013, Ana was a Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher, responsible for compound screening and in vivo validation as part of the STARS project on antimicrobial research strategies. Ana then joined GSK in 2017 as a Visiting Fellow and CIB-CSIC in 2013 as a Visiting PhD Researcher.

In 2013, Ana started their tenure at the University of Leicester as a Translational Research Scientist and Project Manager, specializing in drug discovery and diagnostics. Ana was instrumental in identifying and supporting potential projects, developing commercial strategies, and managing cell-based assays and pre-clinical models for target validation. Ana also worked as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Genetics during this time.

In 2018, Ana became a Volunteer Science Tutor at Udubaddawa and Kuliyapitya Nisala Nenasala Learning Centres via Projects Abroad, where they shared their knowledge and expertise with students. Later that year, they joined C4X Discovery Ltd as a Biology Project Coordinator, followed by roles as a Drug Discovery Project Manager and Commercial Secondee. In their most recent position as an Associate Director of Project Management - Biology, Ana is responsible for overseeing project management activities within the biology division.

Throughout their work experience, Ana has demonstrated strong scientific and project management skills, as well as an ability to collaborate with various stakeholders.

Ana Sousa Manso has a strong educational background in the field of biotechnology and infectious diseases. Ana obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Medical Biotechnology - Microbial Biotechnology, Vaccines, and Infectious Diseases from the Università degli Studi di Siena, where they studied from 2010 to 2014. Prior to that, they completed an Integrated Master's Degree in Biological Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico from 2001 to 2007.

During their studies, Ana also gained practical experience through internships. In 2007, they had an Erasmus internship in Molecular Biology at the Università degli Studi di Milano. Additionally, they obtained a Medici Enterprise Training Programme from the University of Birmingham in 2016-2017.

In terms of their secondary education, Ana attended Colégio Salesiano de Lisboa from 1993 to 2001, where they completed their High School education with a focus on General Sciences.

Apart from their formal education, Ana has also obtained several additional certifications. These include a Data-driven Decision Making certification from PwC in November 2022, a Learning and Development Certificate in Analysing Markets for Potential from CIM | The Chartered Institute of Marketing in November 2016, and a Drug Discovery, Development & Commercialization certification from UC San Diego, CA, USA through Coursera Verified Certificates in December 2014.