Laura Ayres (1 June 1922 – 16 January 1992) was a virologist who was one of Portugal's pioneers in the fight against AIDS.

Laura Guilhermina Martins Ayres was born on 1 June 1922 in Loulé in the Faro District of Portugal.

There she carried out studies on the influenza virus and other respiratory pathologies, including setting up a unit for the diagnosis of whooping cough.

[1] At that time knowledge of virology was practically non-existent in Portugal, and there was a great urgency for a capacity to study viral diseases to be developed at ISH.

[1] In 1990, in acknowledgment of her work, she was made an Officer of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword (Portuguese: Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada), a Portuguese national award conferred for outstanding achievements in science, literature or art.