Dr. Filipa Godoy Vitorino

Dr. Filipa  Godoy‑Vitorino is a microbial ecologist and Full Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology at the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus (UPR‑MSC). Her research focuses on microbial community structure and function in humans and animals, integrating metagenomic data with ecology, physiology, and bioinformatics to elucidate host‑microbe interactions. She heads the Microbial Ecology and Genomics Lab dedicated exclusively to microbial organism research via marker‑gene sequencing, shotgun sequencing, and multi‑omic approaches. Given that Puerto Rico bears among the highest rates in the United States for sexually transmitted diseases and associated cancers, Dr. Godoy‑Vitorino’s team centers on both population‑level and individual‑level dynamics of these conditions to improve health and wellness. Over the last years, as an NIH‑funded independent principal investigator, she has led pioneering work in Hispanic populations of Puerto  Rico, establishing microbial biomarkers associated with cervicovaginal and oral HPV infections. She also serves as director of the newly launched Puerto Rico Center for Microbiome Sciences (PR‑CMS)—established through an $11.3 million NIH‑COBRE grant—to position Puerto Rico as a regional leader in microbiome research. Through her leadership, Dr. Godoy‑Vitorino continues to advance microbiome science, mentor the next generation of scientists, and translate microbial ecology into actionable health insights for the Caribbean region and beyond.