I have a Biomedical Sciences degree with emphasis on Imaging and Biochemistry at the Universidade Federal of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS/Brazil) and a master degree in Biochemistry by the same university.

My undergraduate years: I am pleased to say that during the five years of undergrad school I had the chance of being part of three wonderful groups of research. The first group, on which I stayed for almost three years, is leaded by Professor Lisiane Porciúncula and was interested in the investigation of the effects of adesoninergic system manipulations on neuroprotection and neurodevelopment. During my time in this lab a developed a great interest in studying neurodegenerative disorders.

Following, I had the great opportunity of working for a year as a research assistant at the Holtzman Laboratory at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, investigating the association between sleep disturbances and tauopathies.

Later, Professor Eduardo Zimmer initiated a group studying neurodegenerative disorders in a neuroimaging perspective and, knowing about my passion for both topics, invited me to be part of the formation and establishment of this wonderful group.

My master years: As a master student at the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Biochemistry at UFRGS I led a research investigating the contribution of different brain cells to the [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose – Positron Emission Tomography exam results. I also collaborated with several other studies investigating the brain glucose metabolism in different neuropsychiatric disorders.

PhD: Currently I am a PhD candidate at the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Biochemistry at UFRGS and I am interested in understating the astrocytic contribution to the heterogeneous temporo-spatial distribution of neuropathological events in Alzheimer’s Disease.

PhD Fulbright Program: I will be doing part of my PhD studies at the University of California Irvine (UCI) from September 2021 to July 2022. At UCI, I will be working at better characterizing a rat model of Alzheimer’s Disease.

I come from a large family of farmers and I grew up in a small town, living part of my life on a farm. I think this part of my life explains why I am not a “nature” person and prefer big cities and also why I always dreamed about traveling around the world and knowing important places where great things in history happened or are happening. Additionally to my love for and plans of traveling, when I am not in the lab I like to spend my time with my friends and family playing games, listening to music, watching movies and TV shows. I also give a great value to my time alone, on which I can read great books and think about the dilemmas of life. I am very energetic, so I cannot stay still or idle for more than a few minutes. I am always looking for something to do, to read, to watch, to decorate, to clean and to organize.