Salomé Gomes is an Associate Professor of Microbiology at ICBAS and a researcher dedicated to non-tuberculous mycobacteria.

She got a first degree in Pharmacy and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences, both from Universidade do Porto (UP). She worked under the supervision of Rui Appelberg at UP, Gilla Kaplan and Michel Rabinovitch at the Rockefeller University in New York, Carole Beaumont at Hôpital Bichat in Paris.

She contributed to put in evidence the central role of iron in host-pathogen interaction, showing that different pathogens impact host’s iron re-distribution through different pathways, including the modulation of the expression of iron-related proteins such as ferroportin and ferritin. More recently, she is investigating the details of the multiple functions of ferritin in iron regulation and immune response. 

In parallel, she seeks the development of more efficient antimicrobial compounds to treat infections by non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Besides more conventional antibiotics, she has been studying the potential use of iron chelators, antimicrobial peptides and ionic liquids. She is also committed to the improvement of existing models to test new drugs in vitro, by increasing their predictability towards clinical efficacy.

Salomé Gomes finished the supervision of 7 PhD, 13 MSc and several dozen undergraduate students. She currently supervises 4 PhD students.

She is a member of the Scientific Committee of the PhD in Biomedical Sciences and the President of the Pedagogical Council at ICBAS.