Job description

I started my position at the Marine Bioprospecting group of the CANS-UiT in October 2021 to study Arctic viruses of microbes and how to use them against bacterial infections. Since 1.1.2025 I became the leader of the research group.

There are two main research lines to be followed, one focused on phages and the other on giant viruses, the two main groups of viruses of microbes. Both start with viral isolation and characterization, to be followed by host-pathogen interaction studies and investigation of how to use them against bacteria.

From the phage side the final goal is phage therapy, aiming at the study of phage-bacteria interactions in mucosal conditions for the development of prophylactic phage therapy approaches. From the giant virus side we are interested in understanding the Arctic virome, ideally using local protist hosts to find novel viral groups. Exploring their large and mysterious genomes for finding new biological products is the desired outcome.

 ORCID 0000-0003-2317-5092 ; Research ID I-8910-2012

Activities from the research group in the news:

Disse ørsmå virusene gir håp i kampen mot økt antibiotikaresistens (NRK Tromsø) - https://www.nrk.no/tromsogfinnmark/uit-forskere_-_-hundre-ar-gammelt-bakterievirus-kan-bidra-i-kampen-mot-antibiotikaresistens-1.17643716

Gammelt virus gir nytt håp mot resistente bakterier (press release) - https://kommunikasjon.ntb.no/pressemelding/18710758/gammelt-virus-gir-nytt-hap-mot-resistente-bakterier?publisherId=17847822&lang=no

Gammelt virus gir nytt håp mot resistente bakterier (UiT news) - https://uit.no/nyheter/artikkel?p_document_id=912822

Din neste medisin kan være et virus - https://www.uitmagasin.no/2023/02/02/din-neste-medisin-kan-vaere-et-virus/

The Arctic Giant from Tromsø - https://en.uit.no/nyheter/forskerhjornet/827829/the_arctic_giant_from_tromso

UiTs aller første bakteriofager - https://uit.no/nyheter/artikkel?p_document_id=774210

 

RECENT PUBLICATIONS:

Sørensen AK, Wagemans J, Hosen MS, Venter HJ, Cavanagh JP, Stensvåg K, Lavigne R, Almeida GMF. A link to the past: classical phage ISP infects the recently described Staphylococcus borealis species. Virology Journal. 2025;22(1):308. doi:10.1186/s12985-025-02935-z

Gabriel Magno de Freitas Almeida, Iker Arriaga, Bruna Luiza de Azevedo, Miika Leppänen, Jonatas S Abrahão, Julien Andreani, Davide Zabeo, Janne J Ravantti, Nicola GA Abrescia, Lotta-Riina Sundberg. Genomic and structural insights into Jyvaskylavirus, the first giant virus isolated from Finland. eLife 13:RP103492. 2025.  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.103492.3

Coelho LFL, de Souza Terceti M, Neto SPL, Amaral RP, Dos Santos ALC, Gozzi WP, de Carvalho BA, da Cunha GA, Durante MFR, Sanchietta L, Marangoni GS, Gabriel MLC, Malaquias LCC, Celis ELH, de Souza Apolinário G, Araujo Junior JP, de Oliveira CE, Queiroz VF, Magno de Freitas Almeida G. Mucosal-adapted bacteriophages as a preventive strategy for a lethal Pseudomonas aeruginosa challenge in mice. Commun Biol. 2025 Jan 6;8(1):13. doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-07269-0. 

Aquino ILM, Reis ES, Moreira ROAM, Arias NEC, Barcelos MG, Queiroz VF, Arifa RDDN, Lucas LMB, Tatara JM, Souza DG, Costa A, Rosa L, Almeida GMF, Kroon EG, Abrahão JS. 0. Giant viruses inhibit superinfection by downregulating phagocytosis in Acanthamoeba. J Virol 0:e01045-24.
https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01045-24

Almeida GMF, Ravantti J, Grdzelishvili N, Kakabadze E, Bakuradze N, Javakhishvili E, Megremis S, Chanishvili N, Papadopoulos N, Sundberg L. 0. Relevance of the bacteriophage adherence to mucus model for Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages. Microbiol Spectr 0:e03520-23.
https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.03520-23

Queiroz VF, Tatara JM, Botelho BB, Rodrigues RAL, Almeida GMF, Abrahao JS. The consequences of viral infection on protists. Commun Biol 7, 306 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06001-2

 

Almeida GM, Hoikkala V, Ravantti J, Rantanen N, Sundberg LR. Mucin induces CRISPR-Cas defense in an opportunistic pathogen. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 25;13(1):3653. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-31330-3

Almeida GMF, Sundberg LR. The forgotten tale of Brazilian phage therapy. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 May;20(5):e90-e101. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30060-8

Almeida GMF, Laanto E, Ashrafi R, Sundberg LR. Bacteriophage Adherence to Mucus Mediates Preventive Protection against Pathogenic Bacteria. mBio. 2019 Nov 19;10(6):e01984-19. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01984-19