Dr. Mota is a group leader at Lisbon's Instituto de Medicina Molecular, University of Lisbon, Portugal. She received her Ph.D. in 1998 from University College of London. She was named an EMBO Young Investigator in 2003 and was a recipient of a 2004 European Research Young Investigator Award from the European Science Foundation.

Maria Mota aims to determine the host molecules and mechanisms required for the malaria parasite Plasmodium to become established inside the liver cells of its host and the host factors involved in developing pathology. She uses a systematic RNA interference screen and rodent models of malaria disease in her research.