Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, PhD, is a microbial ecologist by training and is Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. Originally from Portugal, she earned her B.Sc. in Cellular Biology from the University of Porto and her Ph.D. in Microbial Ecology from the University of Puerto Rico, followed by postdoctoral training in metagenomics at the DOE Joint Genome Institute. Her career centers on microbial biodiversity, community dynamics, and dysbiosis in human and animal microbiomes, pioneering metagenomic and bioinformatic approaches across the Caribbean.

Her research integrates basic laboratory science with translational and clinical microbiome studies. She has led landmark work characterizing cervicovaginal and oral microbiomes in Hispanic and Caribbean populations, identifying microbial features linked to high-risk HPV persistence and cervical cancer. Her group was the first to show the predominance of Lactobacillus iners in Puerto Rican vaginal microbiomes and to link high-risk HPV with Malassezia yeasts, uncovering microbial and metabolic biomarkers of cervical disease. She has co-discovered bacterial phyla, characterized microbiomes across systems on a global scale, and forged collaborations across Puerto Rico and world institutions in the US, Latin America, and Europe.

Dr. Godoy-Vitorino is Principal Investigator of the NIH/NIGMS-funded Puerto Rico Center for Microbiome Sciences (COBRE). She has held key roles across multiple NIH initiatives focused on cancer prevention and health disparities. As an international ambassador for applied and microbial ecology groups, including ISME and AMI, she collaborates globally while mentoring over 100 trainees in the past years. Her leadership emphasizes inclusion, scientific rigor, and workforce diversification. Her publications can be found here.

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0003-1880-0498    

GoogleScholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vkcHVwEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

My NCBI bibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1HkRwEN9HRXko/bibliography/public/

Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Filipa-Godoy-Vitorino

Instagram Dr Godoy’s lab: @thegodoylab

Find a summary of the Godoy Lab research, at the-microbiologist.com:

Web: https://md.rcm.upr.edu/micro/dt_team/filipa-godoy-vitorino/ 

Administrative Core Director

Dr. María A. Sosa is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Medical Sciences Campus, where she has led an active research program for more than 26 years. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, followed by a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Florida, and completed postdoctoral training at the UPR Institute of Neurobiology.

Dr. Sosa’s research explores the neural mechanisms underlying interactive behaviors in invertebrates and examines how environmental contaminants impact the nervous system of aquatic and terrestrial species. Her laboratory has made significant contributions to understanding synaptic physiology, sensory system development, biogenic amine signaling, and the effects of anthropogenic stressors on behavior and neural circuitry. She has served as PI, Co-I, or Subproject PI on multiple NIH and NSF grants, including projects focused on environmental neuroscience, synaptic mechanisms, and research infrastructure renovation.

In addition to her scientific work, Dr. Sosa has held key administrative and leadership roles, including Interim Associate Dean for Biomedical Sciences and Interim Director of the Institute of Neurobiology. She has mentored over 15 faculty researchers and has overseen major laboratory renovation and infrastructure projects, contributing substantially to the growth of neuroscience research in Puerto Rico.

Orcid ID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2547-2875

GoogleScholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NTiUGoQAAAAJ&hl=es&oi=ao 

My NCBI bibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/maria.sosa.2/bibliography/40601172/public/?sort=date&direction=ascending

Director Faculty Development Core

Dr. Mark Miller is a Professor in the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus and an internationally recognized neuroscientist whose career spans more than four decades of research on neural circuit structure and function. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Connecticut, followed by postdoctoral training in neurophysiology and animal behavior in Hawaii, Jerusalem, and UCLA. His work has advanced fundamental understanding of neuromodulation, neural plasticity, neuropeptide signaling, and central pattern generator networks, using both vertebrate and invertebrate model systems.

Since joining UPR in 1992, Dr. Miller has led multiple large-scale collaborative programs, including an NSF Undergraduate Research Mentoring program, the NSF CREST Center in Environmental Neuroscience, and an NSF PIRE program on neural mechanisms of reward and decision-making. He has also played key leadership roles in the NIGMS-funded COBRE Center for Neuroplasticity, serving as Interim Director of Phase I and current Director of the Administrative Core. His research group recently expanded into parasitology–neurobiology interfaces, examining how schistosome infection alters snail host neural systems and behavior.

A dedicated mentor and scientific leader, Dr. Miller has provided extensive guidance to early-career investigators and continues to support UPR’s advancement as a competitive biomedical research institution.