Ana Cristina Gales, MD, PhD, is a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (EPM-UNIFESP), where she also serves as Director of the Laboratory Alerta in São Paulo, Brazil. She received her medical degree from the Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC) in 1991 and completed her residency in internal medicine and infectious diseases at EPM-UNIFESP between 1992 and 1995. Dr. Gales earned her PhD in Health Sciences from EPM-UNIFESP in 2001, complemented by a research fellowship in medical microbiology at the Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA (1998–2000).

Dr. Gales’ research focuses on the molecular epidemiology of multidrug-resistant bacteria and the evaluation of the in vitro activity of novel antimicrobial agents. She has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, which have received over 18,300 citations as of January 2026.

She is a full member of the Technical Chamber on Microbial Resistance in Health Services (CATREM), advising the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) standards and control measures in healthcare settings. She also serves as Deputy Coordinator of the Antimicrobial Resistance Institute of São Paulo (ARIES), a recently established initiative aimed at advancing AMR research and strategies in Brazil. Since June 2025, Dr. Gales has served as a Health Area Manager at the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP).

Dr. Gales has contributed to numerous global surveillance programs monitoring antimicrobial resistance trends and phenotypes among clinically significant pathogens. She served as Chair of the Brazilian Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (BrCAST) from 2017 to 2018 and currently serves on the editorial boards of The Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases and the Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance.