As a child growing up in Northern Brazil, the Amazon was my home and later my most inspiring workplace as a biologist. My journey in biology started in 2011 at the Federal University of Amazonas, Brazil. In my pursuit of a scientific career, studying abroad got to be a turning point during my college years. In 2012, I participated in the "Science without Borders" exchange program, a program ran by the Brazilian Government. At the University of Porto, Portugal, I voluntarily worked with Drs. Marcia Liz and Mónica Sousa at the IBMC (currently i3S) on neuronal cytoskeleton dynamics in CNS regeneration, having my first hands-on experience in cell culture, molecular cloning, and immunofluorescence imaging.
From 2014 to 2016, I worked with Drs. James Crainey and Sergio Luz (ILMD/Fiocruz Amazônia, Brazil) on the impact of Wolbachia endosymbionts on the longevity of Aedes albopictus in the Brazilian Amazon using molecular tools and DNA sequencing. Deeply interested in the dynamics of neglected tropical diseases, I enrolled in 2017 in the first cohort of the Host-Pathogen Interaction Biology program at the same institution. My dissertation delved into the influence of human IL13 Gln144Arg (rs20541) mutation on the susceptibility to mansonellosis and was defended in July of 2019.
From 2018 to 2021, I worked as a histology technician at the Foundation Center for Oncology Control, Manaus, Brazil. In Spring 2022, I started my doctoral studies at the University of New Mexico under Drs. Elisa Casadei and Irene Salinas. In Fall 2023, I transferred my doctoral studies to the Oklahoma State University to join the newly-formed Dr. Casadei's lab in the Integrative Biology Department.
Inspired by scientists such as Elisa Casadei, Cristina Maki, Marcelo Menin, Bertha Lutz, Oswaldo Cruz, Sérgio Arouca and many others, I truly believe that scientific advances can and must be pursued to promote social justice and uplift the life on the only planet we still have. I am committed to a career that lives up to that.
From 2014 to 2016, I worked with Drs. James Crainey and Sergio Luz (ILMD/Fiocruz Amazônia, Brazil) on the impact of Wolbachia endosymbionts on the longevity of Aedes albopictus in the Brazilian Amazon using molecular tools and DNA sequencing. Deeply interested in the dynamics of neglected tropical diseases, I enrolled in 2017 in the first cohort of the Host-Pathogen Interaction Biology program at the same institution. My dissertation delved into the influence of human IL13 Gln144Arg (rs20541) mutation on the susceptibility to mansonellosis and was defended in July of 2019.
From 2018 to 2021, I worked as a histology technician at the Foundation Center for Oncology Control, Manaus, Brazil. In Spring 2022, I started my doctoral studies at the University of New Mexico under Drs. Elisa Casadei and Irene Salinas. In Fall 2023, I transferred my doctoral studies to the Oklahoma State University to join the newly-formed Dr. Casadei's lab in the Integrative Biology Department.
Inspired by scientists such as Elisa Casadei, Cristina Maki, Marcelo Menin, Bertha Lutz, Oswaldo Cruz, Sérgio Arouca and many others, I truly believe that scientific advances can and must be pursued to promote social justice and uplift the life on the only planet we still have. I am committed to a career that lives up to that.