Dr Clarissa Damaso

Professor Clarissa Damaso is a Brazilian virologist and professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro with more than 35 years of experience working with poxviruses. Since 2009, she has been an adviser to and then member of the WHO Advisory Committee on Variola Virus Research. Professor Damaso also participated in the Smallpox Laboratory Network meeting (November 2010), and the Independent Advisory Group on Public Health Implications of Synthetic Biology Technology Related to Smallpox (June 2015). 

Professor Damaso’s lines of research have always focused on the study of poxvirus biology, with particular interest in antiviral drugs, virus-host cell interactions, and the discovery and characterization of novel Brazilian poxviruses, including Cantagalo virus (CTGV), a field strain of vaccinia virus, in 1999. CTGV infection is now a main differential diagnosis for monkeypox virus if suspected cases are detected in rural areas of Brazil. Professor Damaso’s group also studies the Brazilian smallpox vaccine used in the 1970s, vaccinia strain IOC, which proved to have a recent common ancestor with Cantagalo virus. Her research interest also includes the evolutionary history of old smallpox vaccines from the 19th and 20th centuries. Professor Damaso’s study of smallpox vaccine genomes has resulted in the publication of several reviews and papers.

Since the beginning of the mpox outbreak in the UK and Portugal in 2022, Prof Damaso joined the Monkeypox situation room of the Brazilian Ministry of Health providing scientific advice, including in her capacity of Head of one of the four reference laboratories for Monkeypox molecular diagnosis. At the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Professor Damaso coordinates the Working Group for Monkeypox preparedness, tasked to trace, detect and isolate cases of monkeypox infection within the University community.

Professor Damaso served on the IHR Emergency Committee on the multi-country outbreak of mpox.