She researches in areas of oral microbiology, Candida spp. virulence of HIV-infected children and restorative biomaterials. In 2007, she awarded the National Honorable Mention for her doctoral thesis research entitle “Study of functional proteins of Candida spp. Isolated from oral cavities of Human Virus Immunodeficiency Infected children”. Dr. Portela has published about 40 peer-reviewed papers and she is a member of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR).

Research Interest :
Oral Microbiology, Pediatric Dentistry and Restorative Biomaterials