On February 11, as we marked the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, UMIB had an additional reason to celebrate with pride: the PhD defense of Raquel Faria, researcher at our unit.
Her thesis, entitled “Serotonin Trait Effects on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Immunological Deregulation and Clinical Heterogeneity”, advances our understanding of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a complex autoimmune disease that predominantly affects women and continues to pose significant challenges to biomedical research.
Raquel Faria’s work provides important insights into the immunological mechanisms underlying SLE, with a particular focus on the role of serotonin-related traits in immune deregulation and clinical heterogeneity. By exploring how these biological factors may contribute to differences in disease expression and progression, this research opens new avenues toward more personalized diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
On this symbolic day, we celebrated not only an academic achievement of excellence, but also science carried out by women, focused on a disease that primarily impacts women, and conducted with the rigor, dedication, and commitment that characterize the work developed at UMIB.
Congratulations to Raquel Faria and her supervisory team on this significant milestone.