Dr Igor Andrade Santos

Igor is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Viral Glycoproteins Group led by Dr Dalan Bailey at The Pirbright Institute, UK. 

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Biomedicine, as well as a Master’s and PhD in Applied Immunology and Parasitology with a specialization in Virology, all from the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), Brazil. During his PhD, he completed a research placement at the University of Leeds, UK, where he investigated the antiviral activity of natural, synthetic, and metal-coordinated compounds against the SARS-CoV-2 replication cycle, funded by the CAPES-PrInt program.

Since joining The Pirbright Institute in early 2024, Igor has been working within the Genotype-to-Phenotype (G2P) consortium, investigating immune responses to emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in vaccinated individuals using low-biocontainment assays. He is also involved in generating and distributing plasmids encoding spike proteins from novel variants to support global research efforts. His broader research explores antigenicity and host range across sarbecoviruses, as well as the mechanisms of viral protein expression in different cell lines and their implications for viral evolution. His experimental approaches combine molecular virology, cloning, flow cytometry, and advanced bioimaging techniques.

Igor has presented his findings at leading scientific meetings, including the Microbiology Society Annual Conference, the American Society for Virology, and the UK International Coronavirus Network (UK-ICN). He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications spanning antiviral research, viral pathogenesis, epidemiology, and population immunity, in journals such as eBioMedicine, Scientific Reports, Pharmacological Reports, Microbial Genomics, and Frontiers in Microbiology, among others.