Evandro de Souza, PhD

Assistant Professor at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of São Paulo. Graduated in Biomedical Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Master’s in Molecular Biology from the Federal University of São Paulo, with a sandwich internship at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, PhD in Biochemistry from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Completed postdoctoral training at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (supported by a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship) and at the University College London. My research focuses on the interplay between proteostasis and aging, specifically investigating how cellular stress responses, such as the unfolded protein response, mediate communication between the nervous system and distal tissues in the model organism C. elegans.

Fernanda De Felice, PhD

Associate Professor at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), at the Centre for Neuroscience Studies (Queen’s University, Canada) and Associate Researcher at D’Or Institute for Research and Education. She obtained her Master’s and PhD in Biochemistry from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, with postdoctoral training at Northwestern University (US). Her research investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on how metabolic signals and neuroinflammation contribute to brain insulin resistance and synaptic failure in Alzheimer’s disease.

Flavia Gomes, PhD

Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Graduated in Biology from the State University of Rio de Janeiro, with a Master’s and PhD in Biophysics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Her research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate glial cell function in the central nervous system, particularly the role of astrocytes and microglia in synaptic plasticity, neurodevelopment, and neurodegenerative diseases.

João Passos, PhD

Professor at the Departments of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering and Geriatric Medicine at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, US). He holds a Master’s degree from the University of Porto (Portugal) and a PhD from Newcastle University (UK). His research demonstrated that telomere-driven DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction are central to the onset and persistence of cellular senescence. His current work aims to develop therapies that target mitochondrial dysfunction to mitigate the harmful effects of senescence, with the goal of extending healthspan and delaying the onset of multiple chronic diseases.

Luan Diniz, PhD

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He holds a degree in Biology, as well as a Master’s and PhD in Morphological Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His doctoral work was recognized with the CAPES Award for Best Thesis in Biological Sciences (2018). His research focuses on mitochondrial physiology in healthy aging and in pathological models of age-related brain diseases.

Marcelo Mori, PhD

Associate Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology at University of Campinas (UNICAMP, Brazil). He holds a degree in Biomedical Sciences and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), with partial training at the Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. Completed postdoctoral research at the Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School. Previously served as Assistant Professor and Researcher in the Department of Biophysics at UNIFESP. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic syndrome and aging, with an emphasis on metabolism and molecular biology.

Nadja Souza Pinto, PhD

Full Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo (USP). She holds a PhD in Biological Sciences (Molecular Biology) from the Federal University of São Paulo (1997). Her research focuses on DNA repair and mitochondrial DNA metabolism, with expertise in biochemistry and molecular biology. She served as President of the Brazilian Society for Mutagenesis and Environmental Genomics (MutaGen-Brasil) from 2014 to 2016 and is currently a member of its advisory board. She was also a member of the National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio) in the area of Human Health from 2014 to 2020.

Patrícia Bozza, PhD

Yraima Cordeiro, PhD

Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil. Holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry (2005). She coordinates the Laboratory of Structural and Molecular Biology, where her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of protein aggregation and phase transitions—particularly involving the prion protein and alpha-synuclein—in neurodegenerative diseases. Her group applies biophysical approaches to investigate these processes and to identify compounds that modulate pathological protein aggregation.

Carla Polycarpo, PhD

Associate Professor at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and Immunology (1997), master’s (1999), and Ph.D. (2003) in Microbiology from UFRJ. She undertook postdoctoral training at Yale University. Her research focuses on understanding the role of transfer RNAs (tRNAs) in gene expression regulation.

Claudio Masuda, PhD

Associate Professor at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Graduated in Biology (Genetics) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, with a Master’s and PhD in Biological Chemistry from the same institution. Completed postdoctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation in the United States, and was a Visiting Professor at the Mayo Clinic (2020–2021). He leads the Yeast Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, where he investigates pathophysiological mechanisms and potential therapies for Classic Galactosemia using yeast and patient-derived cell models. His research also explores novel functions of yeast genes and the development of biotechnological applications using yeast platforms. 

Mychael Lourenco, PhD

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). He earned his bachelor’s in Biology (Genetics) and Ph.D. degrees in Biological Chemistry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and was visiting fellow at Columbia University (US). His research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, with emphasis on proteostasis and metabolism. His lab integrates multidisciplinary approaches—from molecular and cellular biology to animal behavior and human biomarkers—to identify novel targets for diagnostics and therapeutics in brain aging and neurodegeneration.

Pedro Oliveira, PhD

Professor at Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). He holds a bachelor’s degree (1982) in Biology, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Biophysics (1990), all from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His research focuses on the biochemistry and biology of disease vectors, with an emphasis on physiological and molecular adaptations to hematophagy. With extensive experience in vector biology, his work contributes to understanding host-parasite interactions and the molecular mechanisms underlying blood-feeding behavior in insects of medical importance.

Robson Monteiro, PhD

Professor and Director at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he leads the Laboratory of Thrombosis and Cancer. He earned his degree in Pharmacy from UFRJ (1993), followed by a Master’s (1997) and Ph.D. (2001) in Biological Chemistry from the same institution. His research focuses on the role of vascular components—such as blood coagulation factors, platelets, and innate immune cells—in pathological processes including thrombosis, cancer, and infections. A major interest of his group is the role of neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in tumor progression. 

Ana Beatriz Walter Nuno, PhD

Postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, working in the Laboratory of Hematophagous Arthropods under the supervision of Prof. Pedro Lagerblad de Oliveira. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences (2009), a master’s (2011), and a PhD (2016) in Biological Chemistry, all from IBqM/UFRJ. Between 2014 and 2015, she conducted a research internship at the University of Maryland (USA). Her postdoctoral research focuses on the regulation of intestinal homeostasis in blood-feeding insects and its impact on vector competence.

Bruna Mendonça, PhD

She obtained her B.Sc degree in Biophysics and a master’s degree in Biological Chemistry from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), after which she conducted a Ph.D in Oncology in the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA). She is now a postdoctoral researcher (“Nota Dez – FAPERJ” scholarship), currently working in understanding the mechanisms associated with drug resistance and searching for biomarkers in breast tumors, particularly focusing on the role of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins.

Danielle Cozachenco, PhD

Is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), working in the laboratories of Drs. Mychael Lourenço and Sergio Ferreira. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and Immunology (2017) and a master’s degree in Biological Chemistry (2019), both from UFRJ. Her current research focuses on protein synthesis defects and microglial dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease. She was awarded the IUBMB Wood-Whelan Fellowship to conduct research training in Dr. Anna Molofsky’s lab at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and was selected for the Trainee Professional Development Award by Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Her research interests include proteostasis, neuroinflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases.