Scientific Advisory Board
Pedro Massaguer, Ph.D., Co-Chair
CEO of 3D Biotechnology Solutions. Pedro is an entrepreneur and consultant working with biotechnology initiatives and innovation project management for the past 10 years in the private sector and in academia. He likes to develop new businesses from scratch and work in innovative projects. Business Administrator, he completed the PhD program in Science and Technology Policy at State University of Campinas and MBA in Strategic and Economic Business Management at Fundação Getúlio Vargas.
Goncalo Apolinario, Ph.D., Co-Chair
Gonçalo Apolinario de Souza Filho is a Full Professor at the Laboratory of Biotechnology, Center of Bioscience and Biotechnology at the State University of North Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prof. Apolinario has received the “Scientist of Our State” Award from the Rio de Janeiro State Foundation to Support Research (FAPERJ) for the last five years and is a Scientist of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). He has published 52 scientific articles in international journals and has mentored dozens of students during their master and doctoral degrees. Originated from a minority class, Prof. Apolinario witnesses the transforming role of scholarships and opportunities for personal development. He was a beneficiary of fellowships for graduation, master's, PhD and Sabbatical stage throughout his training. Currently, he teaches disciplines in the areas of entrepreneurship, intellectual property, and technological innovation, and has mentored the emergence of several technology-based startups.
Mariana Emerenciano, Ph.D., Co-Chair
Mariana Emerenciano graduated in Biomedicine at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, holds a master's degree in Morphological Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Ph.D. in Oncology from the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA). She is currently an Associate Researcher at the Department of Management and Incorporations of Health Technologies (DGITS/SCTIE). Mariana is also a permanent member at the Post Graduation Program in Oncology at INCA where she leads a research group that studies the causes and consequences of molecular alterations in cancer, focusing on hematological neoplasms. She has received the "Young Scientist of Our State" (FAPERJ) for the last 7 years and is a Scientist of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) since 2015. Her personal challenges as a Brazilian black woman in science as well as the belief that plurality increases science quality give her self-motivation to support diversity in science.
Marcio Alves Ferreira, Ph.D., Co-Chair
Prof. Alves-Ferreira is a Full Professor, at the Department of Genetics, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prof. Alves-Ferreira is member the Post-Graduation Course on Genetics at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and has been a member of the Federal Commission of the Biotechnology area at the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Level -or Education-Personnel (CAPES) since 2010. Prof. Alves-Ferreira has received the “Scientist of Our State” Award from the Rio de Janeiro State Foundation to Support Research (FAPERJ) for the last 12 years and is Scientist of National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq - 1D). He has published 64 scientific articles in international journals and has mentored dozens of students during their master and doctoral degrees. Prof. Alves-Ferreira is a testimony of the impact of international exchange scholarship on his own career. He was beneficiary of two scholarships during his doctoral and post-doctoral respectively, which helped him to establish key research collaborations relevant to date with 10 years plus collaborative work. He also had the experience of mentoring international students and knows inside out the process and potential impact of programs supporting higher education and inclusion of minorities in science.
Ronan Batista, Ph.D., Co-Chair
Ronan Batista was born in 1973 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, where he completed his B.Sc. (Pharmacy, 1994), M.Sc. (Organic Chemistry, 1997), and Ph.D. (Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2005) degrees at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). In 1999, he joined the Department of Basic Sciences (DEBI) at the State University of the Southwest of Bahia (UESB) as an Organic Chemistry lecturer. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Alaíde B. de Oliveira, at the Faculty of Pharmacy – UFMG, he completed his Ph.D. studies (2001-2005) working on the synthesis of kaurane derivatives with potential trypanocidal activity, in collaboration with the parasitologist Prof. Dr. Egler Chiari (UFMG) for the assays against Trypanosoma cruzi, the aetiological agent of Chagas Disease (American Trypanosomiasis). Part of his Ph.D. studies was on the synthesis of diterpenyl-naphthoquinones, which was carried out during a doctoral stage at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry of the University of Salamanca, Spain, from April 2003 to March 2004, under the supervision of Profs. Dr. José M. Miguel del Corral and Dr. Arturo San Feliciano. In November 2012, he joined the Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil, asan Adjunct Professor. From July, 2014, to January, 2016, he took his Post-Doc studies at the College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, U.K., under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Alan H. Fairlamb, working on the design, synthesis, and evaluation of cinnoline fragments as tools for target validation in Leishmania donovani. His current research interests are focused on natural products and derivatives active against neglected diseases and malaria.