I started my academic career as a student of the Biotechnology Technician Course at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in 2006. In the following year, I started my undergraduate in Biological Sciences at the same university. I joined as an intern in the research laboratories where I learned cell culture and molecular biology techniques, parasitological diagnosis and bacteriological analysis. In 2008, I joined the Federal Public Service at UFRGS as a Laboratory Technician/Area: Biology, a position I still hold today. Because I am very interested in education and science communication, I completed a Master’s in Science Education: Chemistry of Life and Health. I dedicated a large part of my career to microbiology, becoming a Specialist in Clinical Microbiology, a PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology at UFRGS and a member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Recently I also became a Specialist in the Laboratory Diagnosis of Infectious and Genetic Diseases at UFRGS. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Zimmer Lab, I dedicate my research to investigating the early biomarkers by mass spectrometry in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and the relationship between the gut microbiota and neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.

I was born in Passo Fundo, a city in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, and spent most of my childhood and adolescence in Lagoa Vermelha. My family came to the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, expecting better educational conditions and job opportunities. I am a ballet dancer, passionate about dance and classical music, especially piano and violin. I love to travel, visit new places, learn new languages, and know different cultures. I am an easy-laughing person (yes, I am always smiling). I’m Alice and Ignacio’s mother, and I support the Parent in Science group, which highlights the importance of motherhood and fatherhood within the universe of science in Brazil.