With mosquito season in full swing, concerns over the Zika virus continue to climb–making one Brazilian scientist’s cutting-edge work particularly timely. Leda Castilho, Ph.D., a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, was named the winner of Johnson & Johnson’s Latin American QuickFire Challenge in February for research that her team is currently conducting on Zika–research that has the potential to lead to a vaccine.

The QuickFire Challenge was created to encourage the development of innovative healthcare technology focused on preventing and eradicating diseases in Latin America.

The challenge’s grand prize? A six-month residency for Castilho and her team at JLABS@TMC, a state-of-the-art new research facility in Houston, Texas, where they will have access to top-notch technology and fellow scientists. “JLABS not only has state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, but they’re surrounded by other eminent researcher institutions in Houston. It’s perfect for networking, which can help accelerate our research,” Leda Castilho said.

Disponível em: <http://www.jnj.com/gph/the-

quest-to-quash-zika-meet-the-brazilian-scientist-workingto- develop-a-vaccine>. Acesso em: 20 nov. 2016. Adaptado.