Mariana Fernandes holds an MSc in Biomedical Sciences from the Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. And had her first contact with flow cytometry while working as a research technician and during her Master’s. During this time, she was involved in several projects focused in characterizing the internalization of classic and new antileishmanial drugs or compounds by macrophages infected with Leishmania spp.
She began her career in flow cytometry in 2015 as a technician in the Flow Cytometry Unit at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM).
Mariana later joined the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) as a Flow Cytometry Research Support Specialist, where she developed extensive hands-on expertise in operating flow cytometry analysers and cell sorters, providing scientific and technical support to researchers, optimising protocols and troubleshooting experimental workflows, and contributing to the development and implementation of new flow cytometry technologies and applications. Building on this experience, Mariana took on an international challenge at the Institute of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, where she established and managed the new Benjamin Franklin Flow Cytometry Facility.
In 2021, she returned to iMM as Head of the Flow Cytometry Unit. Following the merger of iMM and IGC, since October 2024 she is the Head of Flow Cytometry at GIMM – Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine.
Mariana is particularly interested in promoting excellence and best practices in flow cytometry, from sample preparation and panel design to the implementation of robust experimental workflows. She is committed to strengthening shared research infrastructures, fostering the adoption of emerging flow cytometry technologies, and developing innovative solutions that enable researchers to address complex biological questions and advance cutting-edge research.