Education

Doctorate in Science and Technology
Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - Buenos Aires, AR | Apr 2017 - Dec 2023

Mycology - Bioinformatics - Nanotechnology - Molecular Biology.
Azole Resistance Mechanisms in clinical and agro-industrial environment.
Phylogeny - Aspergillus spp., Exophiala spp., Scedosporium spp.

Bachelor of Biotechnology
Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - Buenos Aires, AR | Aug 2010 - Dec 2016

Orientation in Genetic Engineering.
Nitrogen fixing symbiosis.
Actinorrhizal symbiosis - Frankia spp.

Skills

Scientific	Genetic transformation of microorganisms, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Data Analysis, Genetic Analysis, Nanotechnology, Bioinformatics, Mycology, Fluorescence microscopy.
Miscellaneous	R (tidyverse, ggplot2), LaTeX (Overleaf/R Markdown/Quarto), Microsoft Office/Google docs, Google Apps Script, Git/Github, Bash.
Soft Skills	Strategic and analytical thinking, ability to adapt to the environment and change, teamwork, communication and presentation skills, ability to work under pressure with minimal or no supervision, handling of ambiguity and uncertainty.

Professional Experience

PhD Student - CONICET
Mycology Research and Development Laboratory (LIDeMi); (IMPAM, CONICET - UBA) - Buenos Aires, AR | Apr 2017 - Mar 2023

Molecular identification of fungal cryptospecies.
Anti-fungal susceptibility studies based on international standardized guidelines (CLSI & EUCAST).
Molecular characterization of azole’s resistance mechanisms in Aspergillus spp.
Build-up and curation of clinical fungal strains database.
Phylogeny of filamentous fungi.
Studies on Antarctic animals’ fungal flora.
Development of polymeric micelles capable of storing and sustainably releasing voriconazole in the lung.
Technical skills: PCR, sequencing, bio-informatics, phylogeny, molecular biology techniques, microbiology, data analysis, micro y nano particles formulation.
Soft Skills: Teamwork, communication skills, written and oral results’ presentation, project management, organization of the work environment, planning, people training.

Description: During my doctoral thesis I worked carrying out studies and molecular techniques for the identification of fungal cryptospecies, antifungal susceptibility studies based on international standardized guidelines (CLSI and EUCAST), and in the molecular understanding of associated resistance mechanisms. I carried out the assembly and curation of a database of fungal strains from respiratory secretions of patients with cystic fibrosis and isolates obtained from infected seedsthe in the agroindustry. I carried out phylogenetic studies on the strains in the database, as well as a comparison of the local epidemiology with that reported internationally. I participated in a campaign to Antarctica (January to March 2019) to study the local fungal flora, mainly associated with local animals, which is also part of the ceparium. I participated in several international medical mycology conferences where I presented the results of my thesis, which were awarded with the “Best Basic Research Work” award.

ESV scholarship
Biological Interactions Research Laboratory (LIIB); Universidad Nacional De Quilmes - Buenos Aires, AR | Sep 2013 - Aug 2015

Study of the native actinorrhizal symbiosis that establishes nitrogen-fixing root nodules between Frankia spp. and Discaria trinervis’ roots.
Genetic transformation of roots by A. rhizogenes.
Technical skills: Molecular biology techniques, microbiology, fluorescence microscopy, data analysis.
Soft Skills: Teamwork, communication skills, written and oral results’ presentation.

Description: I performed various microbiological tasks including work on sterility, growth and storage of bacterial strains, development of long-term experiments on the nodulation of actinorizal plants framed within my bachelor’s thesis, monitoring of nodular organogenesis of roots through the use of genetics markers which produced fluorescence proteins detected with an fluorescent optical microscope, among others tasks.

Projects

Studies on the diversity of fungal species from clinical samples of animals of the Antarctic fauna: potential impact on human health
Dirección Nacional del Antártico (DNA) - Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA) - Carlini station, Antártida Argantina | Jan 2019 - Mar 2019

The aim was to contribute to the knowledge of the epidemiology of yeast-like and filamentous fungi isolated from different biological samples of Antarctic animals.
Isolates were characterized by genomic sequencing.
Technical skills: PCR, sequencing, bioinformatics, data analysis.
Soft Skills: Teamwork, critical thinking, project organization and management, planning, development of written reports.

Implementation and maintenance of the institute’s website
Instituto De Investigaciones En Microbiología Y Parasitología Médica (IMPAM) - Buenos Aires, AR | Jun 2019 - Current

Design and maintenance of the institute’s website.
Data collection using Google Forms and development of the institute’s staff database.
Technical skills: Google Forms, Google Docs, HTML, WordPress.
Soft Skills: Teamwork, critical thinking, project organization and management.

Publications

Scientific Articles

Antifungal susceptibility patterns for Aspergillus, Scedosporium, and Exophiala isolates recovered from cystic fibrosis patients against amphotericin B, and three triazoles and their impact after long-term therapies.
Brito Devoto, T., Hermida-Alva, K., Posse, G., Finquelievich, J.L., García-Effrón, G., Cuestas, M.L.
Medical mycology 61 (17 Aug 2023). 2023.
Quantitative determination of voriconazole by thionine reduction and its potential application in a pharmaceutical and clinical setting
María Florencia Ladetto, Juan Manuel Lázaro‑Martínez, Tomás Brito Devoto, Víctor J. Briceño, Guillermo R. Castro, María Luján Cuestas
Analytical Methods 15 (9 2023) pp. 1230–1240. Royal Society of Chemistry, 2023
Exploring fungal diversity in Antarctic wildlife: isolation and molecular identification of culturable fungi from penguins and pinnipeds
T. Brito Devoto, M. A. Toscanini, K Hermida Alava, A. N. Etchecopaz, S. J. Pola, M. M. Martorell, M Ansaldo, J Negrete, L Ruberto, W Mac Cormack, M. L. Cuestas
New Zealand Veterinary Journal (July 2022) pp. 1–18. Informa UK Limited, 2022
Sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis in Argentina: Case report, molecular identification and in vitro susceptibility pattern to antifungal drugs
A. N. Etchecopaz, N. Lanza, M. A. Toscanini, T. Brito Devoto, S. J. Pola, G. L. Daneri, C. A. Iovannitti, M. L. Cuestas
Journal de Mycologie Medicale 30 (1 Apr. 2020). Elsevier Masson SAS, 2020
Antifungal susceptibility profile and molecular identification of Cyp51C mutations in clinical and environmental isolates of Aspergillus flavus from Argentina
Katherine Hermida‑Alava, Tomás Brito Devoto, Francisco Sautua, Manuela Gordó, Mercedes Scandiani, Norma Formento, Alicia Luque, Marcelo Carmona, María L. Cuestas
Mycoses (Oct. 2020) myc.13193. 2020
A Novel Combination of CYP51A Mutations Confers Pan‑Azole Resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus
Daiana Macedo, Tomás Brito Devoto, Santiago Pola, Jorge L. Finquelievich, María L. Cuestas, Guillermo Garcia‑Effron
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 64 (8 May 2020). 2020
Molecular epidemiology of Aspergillus species and other moulds in respiratory samples from Argentinean patients with cystic fibrosis
Tomás Brito Devoto, Katherine Stefania Hermida Alava, Santiago J Pola, Rosana Pereda, Etelvina Rubeglio, Jorge L Finquelievich, María L Cuestas
Medical Mycology 58 (7 Oct. 2020) pp. 867–873. 2020
High prevalence of triazole‑resistant Aspergillus fumigatus sensu stricto in an Argentinean cohort of patients with cystic fibrosis
Tomás Brito Devoto, Katherine Hermida‑Alva, Gladys Posse, Jorge L. Finquelievich, Guillermo García‑Effrón, María L. Cuestas
Mycoses 63 (9 Sept. 2020) pp. 937–941. 2020

Book Chapters

Application in gene therapy and DNA/RNA vaccines
María J. Limeres, María A. Toscanini, Tomás Brito Devoto, María F. Ladetto, Guillermo R. Castro, María L. Cuestas
Smart Nanomaterials for Bioencapsulation (Jan. 2022) pp. 39–62. Elsevier, 2022
Nanoparticle Formulations and Delivery Strategies for Sustained Drug Release in the Lungs
María L. Cuestas, Tomás Brito Devoto, María A. Toscanini, María J. Limeres, Germán A. Islán, Guillermo R. Castro
Modeling and Control of Drug Delivery Systems (Jan. 2021) pp. 273–300. Academic Press, 2021

Talks and Conferences

Antarctica, Fungi and Humans: A one world-one health concept
Newland’s Highschool - Bs.As., AR | Nov 2020
Talk for secondary school students organized by Newland’s Highschool as part of the awareness week “Taking Care of Me to Take Care of You”.
The objective was to bring students closer to the world of research and inform them of key concepts such as “One World - One Health”, Ecosystems and Mycology.

Aspergillosis - Overview and Diagnosis
Veterinary school - University of Buenos Aires - Bs.As., AR | Oct 2018
Invited lecturer at a seminar for postgraduate students.

Antifungals - Mechanisms and Resistances
Veterinary school - University of Buenos Aires - Bs.As., AR | Oct 2018
Invited lecturer at a seminar for postgraduate students.

Awards & Distinctions

(2020) Editor’s Pick | Journal
Distinction of the Journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy to the publication “A Novel Combination of CYP51A Mutations Confers Pan-Azole Resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus.

(2019) Best Research Work - XVI INFOCUS 2018 | Bogota, Colombia
Awarded at VI Versión Reconocimiento a La Excelencia Académica e Investigación of the Instituto Científico Pfizer de Colombia (ICPC).

(2018) Best Basic Research Work | Cali, Colombia
Awarded at the 16th INFOCUS.

(2015) Iberoamerican Santander Río Scholarship | Bs.As., Argentina
Academic merit-based scholarship to assist as an international student to the University of Málaga, Spain. Awarded by Santander Río Bank.

(2014) Initiation to Research - ESV | Bs.As., Argentina
Academic merit-based scholarship awarded by Consejo Interuniversitario Nacional (CIN).

(2013) Encouragement to Scientific Vocations (ESV) | Bs.As., Argentina
Academic merit-based scholarship awarded by Consejo Interuniversitario Nacional (CIN)

Languages

Spanish	Native
English	Bilingual
French	Basic