I have been interested in academic research since I was an undergraduate student in the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil. During that time, I participated of the scientific initiation program of the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) under mentorship of Prof. João B. Calixto. In the Prof. Calixto`s lab I had the opportunity to learn several functional and molecular techniques in the pain, inflammation and natural compounds field. This experience fueled my interest in science and initiated my desire to pursue a career in academic research.
After completing undergraduate studies, I chose to pursue an advanced degree in pharmacology under mentorship of Prof. João B. Calixto in the Department of Pharmacology at UFSC, Brazil. During my M.S. studies I dedicated myself to the characterization of the molecular mechanisms involved in the bradykinin B1 receptor expression in the vascular system after tissue damage. Of note, several pieces of evidence indicate that B1 receptor induction plays a critical role in inflammatory pathological states. Also, I took part in a series of studies in collaboration with the Aché Laboratórios Farmacêuticos S.A. for the characterization of the anti-inflammatory properties of the essential oil of Cordia verbenacea, a native Brazilian medicinal plant belonging to the Boraginaceae family. Of high interest, these studies resulted in the production of the first medicine (Acheflan®) researched and developed entirely in Brazil.
In my PhD studies, I become especially interested in study the relationship between the inflammatory process and the Alzheimer`s disease (AD). My main research topic was to evaluate the involvement of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), the enzyme inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and the bradykinin system in the molecular and behavior changes induced by the β-amyloid (Aβ) protein. My studies demonstrated that TNFα, iNOS and bradykinin signaling pathways are linked and exert an important role in the cognitive deficits observed in the earlier stages of AD, suggesting those molecules as possible targets for AD drug discovery. Of interest, my study was later published in the Journal of Neuroscience (J Neurosci, 27:5394-5404, 2007) and was highlighted in the Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (Nat Rev Drug Disc, 6:520, 2007), one of the most important journal in the Pharmacology field and the number one monthly review journal in the field of drug discovery.
Having acquired a strong interest in the study of neurodegenerative disease, I decided to further my training by joining the lab of Prof. Frank LaFerla at University of California, Irvine (UCI) as a post-doctoral researcher. Prof. LaFerla is an internationally recognized molecular biologist who has achieved particular attention lately for the development of different transgenic model, which have helped in understanding the pathological mechanisms of AD. Under Prof. LaFerla`s mentorship, I have been expanding my expertise in molecular biology and in vivo studies.
Concerning my career goals, I intend in the future become an independent scientist in an academic setting. I plan establish a laboratory with well-focused research interests that elucidate pathogenic mechanisms in human degenerative disorders. Also, considering that Brazil is one of the countries with the biggest biodiversity in the word. I intend study the effect of Brazilian-derived natural compounds, whose choice can be based on ethnobotanical and chemotaxonomical studies, and high-throughput screening for the ability to inhibit AD neuropathology. The sum of these studies may lead to the development of new therapeutic tools to effectively treat AD patients.