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Biosketch

Medicine has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I have always wanted to understand life. How it works, how it fails, and how we can help it heal. Curiosity and a love for learning became my compass, and research became my path. I started my scientific journey in the second year of my Physical Education degree, exploring how exercise shapes health. During this time, I discovered a deep passion for cardiac physiology and surgery, which became central to my research interests. This early drive led me to a master’s degree and Ph.D. in cardiac and renal physiology, diabetes, and mitochondrial function. During my Ph.D. at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, I trained for one year at the University of Utah, expanding my skills in mitochondrial biology and experimental models of disease. After my Ph.D., I pursued a Veterinary Medicine degree to deepen my understanding of comparative physiology and strengthen my ability to translate research across species. This step enriched my vision as both a scientist and a physician. Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where my work focuses on understand how leptin can modulate cardiac adaptations caused by diabetes and myocardial infarction. My research integrates physiology, molecular biology, and experimental models to investigate the metabolic, molecular, and functional pathways involved in cardiovascular health and disease.

Over the years, I have developed multidisciplinary skills spanning physiology, molecular biology, tissue engineering, and comparative medicine, while mentoring students and collaborating internationally. This fellowship will not only provide the resources and environment necessary to accomplish my research goals, but also represents a critical step in my career development. It will allow me to deepen my expertise in cardiovascular physiology, expand my collaborative network, and move closer to my long-term goal of contributing to science that improves health and quality of life. Today, my work is fueled by the same passion that began in childhood, to ask questions, seek answers, and push the boundaries of what we know to improve health and train the next generation of scientists.