JI (Joana) Sabino Pinto

I am a biologist with a strong interest in Conservation Ecology and Evolution. I use integrative approaches to study the natural world and to contribute to its preservation. I am particularly interested in understanding disease resistance and emerging pathogens. By combining different approaches (such as, behavior, genomics, and microbiology) we gain a deeper understanding of the complex factors that distinguish healthy from sick individuals.

I work predominantly with amphibians–frogs, toads, salamanders or newts–and the diseases that affect them. I have been involved in long term screenings for amphibian diseases both in captivity and in the wild. By tracking disease presence, we aim to understand why diseases exist in some places but not in others.

Currently, I am investigating how mate preferences shape the evolution of disease resistance to a devastating infectious disease (chytridiomycosis) in amphibians. This work combines sexual behavior, functional analysis, and disease transmission mechanics to explore how sexual selection can aid (or impair) long term population persistence.

Understanding disease resistance in amphibians is critical, as they are the most threatened vertebrate group globally, with habitat loss and infectious diseases driving the declines.

“In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” Baba Dioum, 1968