Microbial Genomics Laboratory.
Molecular Virology Group.
PhD in Biomedical Sciences, Universidad de Chile.
camila.pereira@umayor.cl
Our laboratory is dedicated to studying the molecular mechanisms that regulate HIV-1 infection in microglia, the main immune cells of the central nervous system. Specifically, we focus on understanding the processes that control both active replication and the establishment, maintenance, and reactivation of viral latency in these cells.
Currently, one of our main research interests is the epitranscriptomic regulation of infection, with a special emphasis on RNA modifications mediated by N6-methyladenosine (m6A). We investigate how these epitranscriptomic marks influence the HIV-1 life cycle, including its gene expression, persistence, and reactivation in microglia.
Dr. Camila Pereira holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Chile and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the same institution. Her doctoral thesis, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Ricardo Soto-Rifo, focused on the study of epitranscriptomic regulation mediated by the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification in HIV-1 packaging. In 2022, she was awarded the Best Doctoral Thesis Prize 2022 by the Chilean Society for Microbiology.
Subsequently, she carried out a postdoctoral research project exploring the role of epitranscriptomic regulation in key long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) during HIV-1 infection in microglia. This research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Daniela Toro Ascuy at the Universidad Autónoma de Chile and the University of Chile.
Currently, Dr. Pereira is an assistant professor at the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics at Universidad Mayor, where she continues to develop her research line focused on the epitranscriptomic mechanisms regulating HIV infection in the central nervous system.
