Thomas Hänscheid, PhD

FMUL-Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa

Thomas Hänscheid is Professor of Microbiology at the Instituto de Microbiologia, Faculdade de
Medicina de Lisboa. He also worked as Clinical Microbiologist at the Hospital de Santa Maria up
to 2010. Professor Hänscheid trained in medicine (Germany) and worked for 8 years as a
clinician in internal medicine with a special focus on infectious diseases (HIV/TB) in various
Hospitals in London. He specialized in Clinical Pathology in Lisbon, Portugal with a focus on
clinical microbiology. His work interests focused on the detection and laboratory diagnosis of
gastrointestinal infections, which led to several publications. Further research interests include
the development of new diagnostic tests for malaria, schistosomiase and bacterial (focus on
tuberculosis) diseases.

He has developed a novel flow cytometry-based sensitivity test for malaria parasites. His work
also included the use of novel methods and novel applications of microscopic techniques for the
diagnosis of TB, schistosomiasis and malaria, including a collaboration with Howard Shapiro
from Bostin, USA on image cytometry.

He has also worked on the immune-pathogenic role of the malaria pigment. Further work has
been on the interactions of pathogens, especially malaria and TB, malaria and other respiratory
pathogens, malaria and non-typhoidal Salmonella. Currently he is studying the interactions of
nutrition and malaria. He has collaborations with African Institutions especially with the Medical
Research Unit of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambaréné, Gabon, which focuses on clinical
research, with a particular interest in malaria and TB.