Phillipe Magalhães, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests

Dr. Phillipe Magalhães holds a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences and a master's and a doctorate in molecular biology and microbial ecology of marine environments. For the last 7 years, he has been working on the development and manipulation of coral probiotics (BMC-Beneficial microorganisms for coral) in order to promote increased resilience of corals against thermal and oxidative stress. His research seeks to find answers and understand, through bioinformatics analysis, the role that microorganisms can play in coral health, as well as in the interactions between the microbiome and its coral host, through a collaborative effort established by Prof. Peixoto's and Prof. Benzoni’s labs. Dr. Magalhães has also explored the use and manipulation of chemical compounds extracted from the coral microbiota with the purpose of being used together with BMC probiotics.

Selected Publications

  • Coral microbiome manipulation elicits metabolic and genetic restructuring to mitigate heat stress and evade mortality.
    Santoro, E. P., Borges, R. M., Espinoza, J. L., Freire, M., Messias, C. S. M. A., Villela, H. D. M., Pereira, L. M., Vilela, C. L. S., Rosado, J. G., Cardoso, P. M., Rosado, P. M., Assis, J. M., Duarte, G. A. S., Perna, G., Rosado, A. S., Macrae, A., Dupont, C. L., Nelson, K. E., Sweet, M. J., Voolstra, C. R., Peixoto, R. S.
    Science Advances, 7, 33 (2021).
  • Multi-domain probiotic consortium as an alternative to chemical remediation of oil spills at coral reefs and adjacent sites.
    Silva, D.P., Villela, H.D.M., Santos, H.F. Duarte, G. A. S., Ribeiro, J. R., Ghizelini, A. M., Vilela, C. L. S., Rosado, P. M., Fazolato, C. S., Santoro, E. P., Carmo, F. L., Ximenes, D. S., Soriano, A. U., Rachid, C. T. C. C., Vega Thurber, R. L., Peixoto, R. S.
    Microbiome 9, 118 (2021).
  • Heat waves are a major threat to turbid coral reefs in Brazil. 
    Duarte, G. A. S., Villela, H. D. M., Deocleciano, M., Silva, D. P., Barno, A., Cardoso, P. M., Vilela, C. L. S., Rosado, P. M., Messias, C. S. M. A., Chacon, M. A., Santoro, E. P., Olmedo, D. B., Szpilman, M., Rocha, L. A., Sweet, M., Peixoto, R. S.
    Frontiers in Marine Science 7, 179 (2020).
  • An Incredible Invisible World: How Microorganisms Could Take Care of Corals in Difficult Times.
    Rosado, P. M., Varona, N., Eisen, J. A., Peixoto, R. S.
    Frontiers for Young Minds, 8 (2020).
  • Adaptable mesocosm facility to study oil spill impacts on corals. 
    Silva, D. P., Duarte, G. A. S., Villela, H. D. M., Santos, H. F., Rosado, P. M., Rosado, J. G., Rosado, A. S., Ferreira, E. M., Soriano, A. U., Peixoto, R. S.
    Ecology and Evolution, 9, 5172-5185 (2019).
  • Marine probiotics: increasing coral resistance to bleaching through microbiome manipulation.
    Rosado, P. M., Leite, D. C. A., Duarte, G. A. S., Chaloub, R. M., Jospin, G., Nunes Da Rocha, U., Saraiva, J., Dini-Andreote, F., Eisen, J. A., Bourne, D. G., Peixoto, R. S.
    ISME Journal, 1, 1-16 (2019).
  • Beneficial Microorganisms for Corals (BMC): Proposed Mechanisms for Coral Health and Resilience.
    Peixoto, R. S., Rosado, P. M., Leite, D. C. A., Rosado, A. S., Bourne, D. G.
    Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, 1-16 (2017).

Education

  • ​Ph.D., Microbiology, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2021
  • M.Sc., Biotechnology, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2017
  • B.Sc., Biological Sciences, UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2015

Professional Profile

  • ​2022-Present: Postdoctoral fellow, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
  • 2017: Collaborator – Project: CENPES/PETROBRAS – Procorais – Development of Oil Bioremediation strategies for coral reef protection

Scientific and Professional Membership

  • Research Associate at AquaRio (Rio de Janeiro Marine Aquarium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Awards

  • 2020 - 2019’s most downloaded research in Microbiology in the world. 
    Marine probiotics: increasing coral resistance to bleaching through microbiome manipulation. ISME journal. (First author). 
  • 2018 - “Out of the Blue-Box Award” offered by the Australian Academy of Science (contributor).

KAUST Affiliations

  • Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE)
  • Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)

Research Interests Keywords

Microbial ecology Coral Microbiology Marine Probiotics Marine symbioses Host-microbiome interactions