Dr Taissa Ricciardi-Jorge
Dr Taissa Ricciardi-Jorge leads, since 2025, an independent research project focused on Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV; Orthoflavivirus japonicum), funded by the Pirbright Strategic Career Development Award. Her work uses comparative approaches across vertebrate hosts to interrogate the mechanisms underlying JEV pathogenicity and host adaptation.
Taissa graduated in Pharmacy at UFPR (Brazil), where she developed an early interest in virology and antiviral research. She went on to complete an MSc in Bioscience & Biotechnology at Fiocruz (Brazil), focusing on the development of serological tests for yellow fever infection, and later obtained a diploma in Clinical Virology from the Pasteur Institute (France). Her PhD in Pharmacology at UFSC (Brazil) focused on host stress responses to flavivirus infection.
Her research experience includes:
- High-throughput screening for antiviral
- Development and validation of serological tests for arbo and roboviruses
- Development of vector vaccines for avian diseases
- Isolation of wild zoonotic viruses
- Characterisation of cellular innate immune response against RNA and DNA viruses
From 2013 to 2016, she worked as a lecturer in Cellular and Molecular Biology.
She joined the Pirbright Institute in late 2021 as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist, studying RNA virus replication and host interactions as part of the Viral Gene Expression Group led by Dr Trevor Sweeney. In 2025, she received the Pirbright Strategic Career Development Award to establish her independent research line.
