We study how lipid-protein modifications, particularly protein S-acylation aka S-Palmitoylation shape membranes, organelles, and immunity during infection. Our collaborative research combines molecular biology, biochemistry, imaging, chemical biology and structural approaches, using viruses, bacterial toxins, and other stress models to uncover fundamental principles of cell biology while exploring their potential impact on health and disease.
We value a diverse, international, and inclusive environment where ideas from all backgrounds can thrive, and encourage lab members to think boldly, collaborate widely, and take ownership of their projects.
Our goal is to transform discoveries at the bench into ideas that can shape the future of medicine.
Francisco Sarmento Mesquita
I obtained my Ph.D. in Cellular Microbiology at Imperial College London with David Holden, studying Salmonella pathogenesis and how bacteria evade autophagy. After a one-year career break, I returned to my hometown Porto as an EMBO-funded postdoc at i3S/IBMC with Didier Cabanes, where I investigated plasma membrane damage and, in collaboration with Serge Mostowy (LSHTM), developed zebrafish models for bacterial infections with pathogens such as Listeria and Streptococcus pneumoniae. In late 2018, I joined Gisou van der Goot’s lab at EPFL Lausanne as a Senior Scientist, where I led collaborative projects with several EPFL groups, including Giovanni D’Angelo and Didier Trono, as well as international partners. My work focused on how lipid modifications of viral and host proteins control virion composition and shape cellular organelles.
In August 2025, I started my lab at LKCMedicine, NTU, where we continue this collaborative and integrative approach to study how lipid modifications influence viral and host membranes during infection, and how these changes connect to host defense, immunity, and disease—a path made possible thanks to the guidance of great supervisors and the support of outstanding colleagues and collaborators.