Professor Novais researches the crosstalk between tissues and immune cells. She and her lab are particularly interested in how disease caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania alters the skin microenvironment and influences the phenotype T cells exhibit during infection.

Her lab is currently using cutting-edge tools applied to mouse models and samples from human donors infected with the protozoan parasite Leishmania to understand the crosstalk between tissue and immunity.