Our Team

Marta Ribes is a postdoctoral researcher on noma epidemiology at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. She holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Barcelona, an MSc in Neuroscience from Sorbonne Université, an MSc in Global Health from the University of Barcelona, and a PhD in the epidemiology of noma in Mozambique from the University of Barcelona.

In the past, Marta has been involved in several COVID-19 projects, focusing on its epidemiology and immune response. Additionally, she participated in the implementation of a large clinical trial in Mozambique and Kenya which tested a new vector control tool for malaria.

Since 2022 she has been raising awareness on noma through research and outreach activities. In January 2024, she led a project in Zambezia, Mozambique, which provided for the first time scientific evidence on the presence of noma in the country. She aims to do meaningful, patient-centered research that can be translated into prevention of future cases and improved livelihood for noma survivors.

Lines of research

• Epidemiologia del noma

Main publications

• Ribes M, Atumane A, Padama F, Abrigio F, Andurage M, Arbolaez Y, et al. Wherever There Is Poverty – Active and Passive Case Finding to Address Neglect of Noma in Mozambique. BMJ Global Health. In press.
• Elysium, Izzett D, Izzett B, Trotter A, Nunes J, Cismas J, et al. Noma as a neglected tropical disease: an opportunity to reconsider neglect in global health. BMJ Global Health 2025;10:e019152. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2025-019152
• Ribes M, Halani F, Atumane A, Andurage M, Elobolobo E, Moncunill G, et al. Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Healthcare Workers Towards Noma in Zambezia, Mozambique. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2025; 19(3): e0012939. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012939
• Galli A, Comparet M, Dagne D, Baratti-Mayer D, Cao T, Guérin P, et al. Defining the noma research agenda. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. s 19(4): e0012940. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012940