Marquis Who's Who Millennium Magazine

A Marquis Who's Who Magazine

T he immune system is vital to the makeup of the human body, as its job is to protect against autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases and cancer, among other illnesses. Immunologists are faced with the important charge of preventing and treating many of these diseases, a task to which Maria DeSousa is tirelessly dedicated. Ms. DeSousa’s desire to know more about how the immune system works and ways to prevent and treat diseases led her to become a research fellow for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London. She spent two years there and later became a research assistant at Instituto Gulbenkian De Ciencia in Portugal. With her vast knowledge of immunology, she became a guest lecturer at the University of Glasgow, where she taught future immunologists for nine years. Having made an impact internationally, Ms.

Maria DeSousa Immunologist Cornell University New York, NY

DeSousa decided to come to America to continue her groundbreaking work. She became an associate member of the Sloan Kettering Institute, a treatment and research center dedicated to finding new ways to help those who are going through various stages of cancer. Ms. DeSousa has made major contributions to the field of immunology, including writing a chapter for “Contemporary Topics in Immunology,” which focuses on many characteristics of the thymus, an organ that creates T cells for the immune system, and its role in different species. In addition to her work in immunology, Ms. DeSousa is a visiting professor for Harvard University Medical School, president of the Abel S. Foundation in New York City, and president of Sociedade Portuguesa de Imunologia. She is also affiliated with several international medical organizations, including the Royal College of Pathologists, the British Society for Immunology and the American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants. Ms. DeSousa’s international work in the field has been acknowledged with several awards.

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