Mariana Castanheira, Ph.D.

Mariana Castanheira, Ph.D.

JMI Laboratories

Mariana Castanheira, Ph.D., has a science degree in Pharmacy and Biochemistry. She completed her Master of Science and Doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees for evaluating molecular epidemiology and resistance mechanisms of gram-positive and -negative bacteria at Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP).
 
Castanheira also received training at the Department of Pathology and Microbiology of the University of Bristol (United Kingdom) to study beta-lactamases. She built on the knowledge gained at Bristol by dedicating the past 20 years to working on discovering and characterizing genes encoding beta-lactamases and other resistance mechanisms.
 
Castanheira has served as the chief scientific officer at JMI Laboratories since Jan. 2020. Previously, she spent 2 years serving as JMI’s chief operations officer, during which time she oversaw all service divisions and identified opportunities to improve the organization. Now, she is broadening and promoting the scientific endeavors of JMI Laboratories. She is further responsible for designing and overseeing antimicrobial and antifungal drug development projects, surveillance studies and molecular projects that characterize resistance mechanisms.
 
Castanheira is the leading author of over 250 peer-reviewed publications, presents annually at major field conferences and interfaces with a global network of research collaborators. Castanheira was an associate editor for Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (2008-2014) and is currently an editor for mSphere (since 2015). She is also a member of the editorial board for Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Microbial Drug Resistance and Drug Resistance Updates. She also serves as an ad hoc reviewer for many other microbiology journals.