Networking Friday with Minister Maria do Rosario Sambo (Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Angola)

On August 14th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, we met Maria do Rosário Sambo, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Angola. The moderator was Susana Catita, Executive Director, Ciencia LP. Minister Maria do Rosário Sambo took office on September 30th, 2017. She earned her medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine of the University Agostinho Neto, Luanda, Angola, in 1983, received her Neurology speciality in 1997 from the Egas Moniz Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal and obtained her PhD degree in Medicine, Genetics Specialty, with the theme “Genetic Susceptibility to Cerebral Malaria in Angolan Children” from the University of Lisbon and the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, Portugal, in 2010. From 2011 to 2015, Minister Maria do Rosario Sambo was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Universidade Katyavala Bwila, Benguela, Angola, and then she was the Rector of Universidade Agostinho Neto, Luanda, from 2015 to 2017. She is currently a Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidade Agostinho Neto. Minister Maria do Rosario Sambo was awarded with the Pfizer Clinical Research Prize on 11 November 2010 in Lisbon by the Society of Medical Sciences of Lisbon, which recognized her work on "Genetics of Cerebral Malaria in Angolan Children: Transforming Growth Factor Beta 2 and Heme Oxygenase 1 Genes control susceptibility to Cerebral Malaria Syndrome". She was also awarded with the Biomedical Research Prize 2010 of the Order of Medical Doctors of Angola (1st Prize awarded on 26 November 2011 in Luanda) for her work on "Transforming growth factor beta 2 and heme oxygenase 1 genes in the genetic susceptibility of cerebral malaria in Angolan children." Minister Maria do Rosario Sambo published several papers:

1. Serum pantetheinase/vanin levels regulate erythrocyte homeostasis and severity of malaria. Rommelaere S, Millet V, Rihet P, Atwell S, Helfer E, Chasson L, Beaumont C, Chimini G, Sambo M do R, Viallat A, Penha-Gonçalves C, Galland F, Naquet P. Am J Pathol. 2015 Nov;185(11):3039-52.
2. Quantitative trait locus analysis of parasite density reveals that HbS gene carriage protects severe malaria patients against Plasmodium falciparum hyperparasitaemia. Sambo M do R, Penha-Gonçalves, Trovoada MJ, Costa J, Lardoeyt R, Coutinho A. Malar J. 2015 Oct 7;14:393.
3. The rise of medical training in Portuguese speaking African countries. Fronteira I, Sidat M, Fresta M, Sambo Mdo R, Belo C, Kahuli C, Rodrigues MA, Ferrinho P. Hum Resour Health. 2014 Nov 3;12:63.
4. Impact of a training course on the quality of malaria diagnosis by microscopy in Angola. Moura S, Fançony C, Mirante C, Neves M, Bernardino L, Fortes F, Sambo Mdo R, Brito M. Malar J. 2014 Nov 18;13:437.
5. Current status on health sciences research productivity pertaining to Angola up to 2014. Sambo M do R, Ferreira AV. Health Res Policy Syst. 2015 Jul 1;13:32.
6. Ferreira AV, Fresta M, Simões C, Sambo MR. Desafios da educação médica e da investigação em saúde no contexto de Angola. Revista Brasileira de Educação Médica. 2014, 38 (1): 133-141.
7. NOS2 Variants Reveal a Dual Genetic Control of Nitric Oxide Levels, Susceptibility to Plasmodium Infection, and Cerebral Malaria. Trovoada Mde J, Martins M, Ben Mansour R, Sambo Mdo R, Fernandes AB, Antunes Gonçalves L, Borja A, Moya R, Almeida P, Costa J, Marques I, Macedo MP, Coutinho A, Narum DL, Penha-Gonçalves C. Infect Immun. 2014 Mar;82(3):1287-95.
8. IFNAR1 controls progression to cerebral malaria in children and CD8+ T cell brain pathology in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. Ball EA, Sambo MR, Martins M, Trovoada MJ, Benchimol C, Costa J, Antunes Gonçalves L, Coutinho A, Penha-Gonçalves C. J Immunol. 2013 May 15;190(10):5118-27.
9. Transforming growth factor beta 2 and heme oxygenase 1 genes are risk factors for the cerebral malaria syndrome in Angolan children. Sambo MR, Trovoada MJ, Benchimol C, Quinhentos V, Gonçalves L, Velosa R, Marques MI, Sepúlveda N, Clark TG, Mustafa S, Wagner O, Coutinho A, Penha-Gonçalves C. PLoS One. 2010 Jun 16;5 (6): e11141.
10. Malária cerebral e síndroma neurológica pós-malária. Sambo MR, Borges MA, Borges FC. Revista SPMI, 2000. 7(3): 170-175.
11. Intramedullary tuberculoma in a patient with HIV infection and disseminated multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; case report. Borges MA, Carmo MI, Sambo MR, Borges FC, Araújo CM, Campos MJ, Jacinto AM, Mansinho K, Leitão OC. Int J Infect Dis, 1998. 2(3): 164-167.

More information about the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation is available on the Web, Facebook and Instagram. If you want to contact Minister Maria do Rosario Sambo, please fill out this form. The moderator, Susana Catita, is the Executive Director of Ciencia LP, a Category 2 Centre, under the auspices of UNESCO, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, aimed to foster advanced formation and scientific research in Portuguese Speaking Countries, especially in Africa, contributing to capacity building processes among local academic and scientific institutions, in order to retain talents and prevent “brain drain”. She has been working with political policy makers in Science and Higher Education, focusing in international cooperation and collaborative dynamics among institutions. We will continue with the Networking Fridays during the next months. More information about future sessions as well as presentations and videos from previous sessions can be found here. Twitter Hashtag: #netfridays. Expect some very exciting afternoons, or mornings or evenings, depending on where you are… If you need any additional information please send an email to Jose Luiz Moutinho.