Raíssa Nogueira de Brito

Research

I am a biologist (Bachelor's degree with an emphasis in Environmental Management, 2012) with a master’s (2015) and a doctorate (2019) degrees in Health Sciences – Infectious and Parasitic Diseases. I have been investigating the effects of social-environmental factors on the risk of transmission of several infectious diseases (e.g., Chagas disease, dengue, zika, chikungunya, COVID-19, and measles). During my training (from undergraduate to Ph.D.) I also studied ecology, evolution, genetics, physiology, behavior, and taxonomy of vectors disease with a focus on vector control-surveillance strategies (mainly triatomine bugs – the Chagas disease vectors). Currently, I am investigating the social determinants of multi-host vector-borne infections (i.e., Chagas disease and leishmaniasis) in dynamic tropical landscapes of Panama.

Selected publications

Brito RN, Geraldo JA, Monteiro FA, Lazoski C, Souza RCM, Abad-Franch F. Transcriptome-based molecular systematics: Rhodnius montenegrensis (Triatominae) and its position within the Rhodnius prolixus-Rhodnius robustus cryptic-species complex. Parasites & Vectors. 2019; 12:305.

Brito RN, Souza RCM, Abad-Franch F. Dehydration-stress resistance in two sister, cryptic Rhodnius species – Rhodnius prolixus and Rhodnius robustus genotype I (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). Journal of Medical Entomology. 2019; 56(4): 1019-1026.

Brito RN, Gorla DE, Diotaiuti L, Gomes ACF, Souza RCM, Abad-Franch F. Drivers of house invasion by sylvatic Chagas disease vectors in the Amazon-Cerrado transition: A multi-year, state-wide assessment of municipality-aggregated surveillance data. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 2017; 11(11): e0006035.

Brito RN, Diotaiuti L, Gomes ACF, Souza RCM, Abad-Franch F. Triatoma costalimai (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in and around houses of Tocantins state, Brazil, 2005-2014. Journal of Medical Entomology. 2017; 54(6): 1771-1774.

Oliveira LM*, Brito RN*, Guimarães PAS*, Santos RVMA, Diotaiuti LG, Souza RCM, Ruiz JC. TriatoKey: a web and mobile tool for biodiversity identification of Brazilian triatomine species. Database (Oxford). 2017; bax033. [*Equal contribution]