Sandra Antunes is an Assistant Researcher in Medical Parasitology at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, NOVA University Lisbon (IHMT-NOVA), and a member of the Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM) research centre. Her work is grounded in a One Health framework and focuses on vector-borne diseases, particularly tick–pathogen–host interactions.

She holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from IHMT-NOVA, awarded with distinction and an excellence prize, and has developed extensive expertise in molecular parasitology, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and functional approaches to study host–pathogen interactions. Her research aims to identify molecular determinants of infection and to support the development of innovative control strategies, including vaccines.

Sandra Antunes has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and has been actively involved in national and international research projects, including as Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator in competitively funded projects. She has established collaborations across Europe, Africa, and South America, contributing to research capacity building and field-based studies on vector-borne diseases.

In addition to her research activities, she is actively engaged in teaching and supervision at MSc and PhD levels. She has also contributed to academic governance and institutional management, having served on the Scientific Council and the Institutional Council of IHMT-NOVA, where she has been involved in research strategy, evaluation processes, and decision-making activities.