1. Sandro Pereira CV Page 1 of 2
SANDRO PEREIRA
Date of Birth: 26/10/1976
Nationality: Portuguese
Current Address: Friedhofstrasse 39, 8048 Zurich, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 765490070
Email Address: sandrofpereira@gmail.com
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in Molecular Biology 2002-08
Universidade Nova de Lisboa and The Rockefeller University Portugal, USA
Licentiate in Microbiology and Genetics (Equivalent to Masters) 1995-00
Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa Portugal
WORK EXPERIENCE
Postdoctoral Research Scientist 2013-15
Columbia University Medical Center USA
• Carried out an independent research project on cell dormancy, a state of reduced metabolic activity
adopted to persist through many stresses including chemotherapy
• Applied and optimized tools and methodologies to study regulation of protein synthesis in
mitochondria using Yeast and Mammalian immune cells as model systems
• Designed and applied methods to isolate mitochondria from Yeast and Mammalian Macrophages
and T cells
• Executed Yeast culture techniques and genetics as well as Mammalian cell culture techniques
Postdoctoral fellow 2009-12
Columbia University Medical Center USA
• Carried out an original research project on the regulation of protein synthesis in bacterial
dormancy
• Described a novel mechanism in which phosphorylation of key components of the translation
machinery acts as a regulatory switch to inhibit protein synthesis
• Utilized biochemical and molecular tools to express and produce highly purified components of
bacterial translation machinery to perform cell-free translation assays
• Designed and optimized methods to purify and express eukaryotic-like kinases in bacteria
• Performed biochemical methodologies to assay the effect of phosphorylation in the activity of key
enzymes, including chromatography (TLC, eTLC and FPLC), in vivo ribosome profiling and single-
molecule fluorescence microscopy
• Designed and applied gene reporters to study mRNA expression and protein levels in dormant cells
• Devised new methodologies to use Bacillus subtilis sporulation as model to study the regulation of
protein synthesis in dormant cells using fluorescent reporters and subcellular fractionation
techniques
Ph.D. fellow 2002-08
Universidade Nova de Lisboa and The Rockefeller University Portugal, USA
• Carried out an original research project on cell division and cell wall synthesis in Staphylococcus
aureus with particular interest in the molecular mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics that target
the bacterial cell wall.
• Constructed fluorescent fusions of key enzymes of the cell wall synthetic machinery to determine
subcellular localization by fluorescent and Immunofluorescence microscopy
• Designed biochemical assays to determine activity of enzymes in the context of multi-enzymatic
complexes and implemented in vivo and in vitro binding and protein-protein interaction
methodologies

2. Sandro Pereira CV Page 2 of 2
Ph.D. fellow (cont.)
• Carried out structural characterization of cell wall by HPLC, complemented by EM and cryo-EM to
elucidate the tight coupling of cell wall synthesis and cell division in S. aureus
• Devised and applied microbiological, molecular and biochemical methods to characterize
resistance to antimicrobials that target cell wall synthetic machinery, such as beta-lactams
Research Fellow 2000-02
Universidade Nova de Lisboa Portugal
• Designed and applied several tools to identify Staphylococci of animal origin and performed
screens to identify antimicrobial resistance and virulence biomarkers. These included phenotypic
characterization (Etest, antibiotic discs, population analysis profiles) as well as PCR and
sequencing based screening methods
Undergraduate Research Thesis 1999-00
Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa and Universidade Nova de Lisboa Portugal
• Developed, validated and implemented a novel typing method for clinical staphylococcal isolates
from humans using internal Transcribed Spacer PCR
PUBLICATIONS
• Sandro F.F. Pereira, Ruben L. Gonzalez Jr, and Jonathan Dworkin. Protein synthesis during
cellular quiescence is inhibited by phosphorylation of a translational elongation factor. 2015. In
revision in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Pereira, S. F. F., L. Goss, and J. Dworkin. Eukaryote-like serine/threonine kinases and
phosphatases in bacteria. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 2011. 75:192-212.
• Pereira, S. F. F ., A. O. Henriques, M. G. Pinho, H. de Lencastre, and A. Tomasz. Evidence for a
dual role of PBP1 in the cell division and cell separation of Staphylococcus aureus. Mol. Microbiol.
2009. 72:895-904.
• Pereira, S. F. F., A. O. Henriques, M. G. Pinho, H. de Lencastre and A. Tomasz. Role of PBP1 in
the cell division of Staphylococcus aureus. 2007. J. Bacteriol. 189: 3525–3531.
• Miragaia, M., I. Couto, S. F. F. Pereira, K. G. Kristinsson, H. Westh, J. O. Jarløv, J. Carriço, J.
Almeida, I. Santos-Sanches, and H. de Lencastre. 2002. Molecular characterization of methicillin-
resistance Staphylococcus epidermidis clones: evidence of geographic dissemination. J. Clin.
Microbiol. 40: 430-438.
• Couto, I., S. Pereira, M. Miragaia, I. Sanches, and H. de Lencastre. 2001. Identification of clinical
staphylococcal isolates from humans by Internal Transcribed Spacer PCR. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39:
3099-3103.
OTHER EXPERIENSES AND SKILLS
• Supervision of PhD students and laboratory technicians
• Participation in the writing of successful research applications, grants and papers. Peer reviewed
research papers
• Teaching Assistant in the Clinical Microbiology Master Degree course from Faculdade de
Medicina de Lisboa, Portugal and in the Medical Microbiology Master Degree Course of
Universidae Nova de Lisboa and Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Portugal
• Participation in international conferences and meetings with oral and poster presentations
• Experienced user of MS Office applications (word, excel, etc) and mark-up languages, such as
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat
• Languages: Portuguese (native speaker), English (fluent), Spanish and French (understanding
level)
REFERENCES
Contact details for references will be readily provided upon request.