Brazil Visiting Fellows Scheme

Rafael Montoito Teixeira, Instituto Federal Sul-rio-grandense  

I am a Mathematics graduate from the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, and currently  teach in the Insituto Federal Sul-rio-grandense (Pelotas), in a Master's Program in Education. Since 2006 I’ve been studying Lewis Carroll’s works in order to get to know and to decipher his literary-mathematical universe. Because some of his books have never been published in Brazil and others are out of print, I’ve been dedicating my time to bring him back into academic discussions. His stories and his mathematical works are a powerful source for the study of mathematics, language and educational systems. In 2015 his Euclid and his Modern Rivals was published for the first time in Portuguese. This translation is part of my doctorate research. Now I’m here, at the University of Birmingham, with Professor John Holmes, from the English Department, studying Carroll’s diaries and letters. Our intention is identify in his personal life some thoughts that could characterize him also as a pedagogue, someone concerned about teaching who used some of his own characters to discuss the issues he wrote about in his personal notes.

Camila Azevedo Antunes de Oliveira, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

In September 2015 I graduated with a PhD awarded jointly by the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil and Friedrich Alexander University (FAU) in Germany. The multidisciplinary work undertaken during my PhD included collaborations with the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) and the University of Oxford. I then started a position as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at UERJ. During a meeting in Brazil in 2015, I exchanged some ideas with Professor Ian Henderson from the University of Birmingham and put plans in place for future collaboration. The opportunity to join the University of Birmingham as  one of the University’s  Brazil Visiting Fellows gave us an excellent opportunity to make our ideas become a reality. The research we are doing in Birmingham during the three month visit will merge flawlessly with my  work in Brazil. The research of Prof. Ian Henderson focuses on the bacterial cell surface,based on the philosophy that the bacterial cell surface offers a rich source of molecules which can be utilized and adapted to treat or prevent infections. This project and the multidisciplinary partnership will contribute to the academic, scientific and technical knowledge in the area of microbiology, virulence and pathogenicity of corynebacteria by providing contributions that may help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and the genetic basis of virulence of these medically-important microorganisms. Moreover, my visit will help to create innovative approaches and ideas for new publications, supporting the partnership development and collaboration between the University of Birmingham and the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ).

Farley Nobre, Universidade Federal do Paraná

Dr. Farley Nobre, who completed his PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2005, and his collaborator Professor David Walker (School of Engineering) have worked to achieve impact on education and research based on activities facilitated by the Brazil Visiting Fellowship Scheme. With their ongoing research related to Cognitive Machines, Decision Science and Fuzzy Logic, they are are planning the publication of a book on Sustainable Development of the Brazilian Amazon, along with articles on Social Entrepreneurship and Cognitive Machines. In addition, they are also advancing their initiatives to a broader project on Social Responsibility in order to deliver lectures (in 2016 and 2017 they delivered lectures on Cognitive Machines in Organizations at Old Swinford Hospital School, Stourbridge) and activities on sustainability within the wider West Midlands region. In 2016 and 2017, Farley participated in the Oxford University Conference on 'Business Fights Poverty', as part of his research.

André Aquino, Universidade de São Paulo

My collaboration with Professor Richard Batley from the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham has been in place since 2012, and we have organised visits part-funded by the Universities of São Paulo and Birmingham. This fellowship gave us a period of time to share and consolidate our thinking. My experience as a “Brazil Visiting Fellow” has confirmed to me how beneficial a period abroad (working intensively with a senior professor) can be, in particular in terms of advancing writing and publication activities. We have now produced a good manuscript to be submitted to a top tier journal. The fellowship period has helped me to broaden my understanding (and that of my department) of the contribution of organizational theory to accounting research. In a nutshell, our work focuses on the analysis of some important reforms of public financial management in Brazil. Our interest is to understand whether political and budgetary cultures act as important sources of resistance to the implementation of new accounting rules promoted by the Brazilian Treasury, underpinning the intentions to increase transparency and accountability by local governments. Secondly, but also importantly, my fellowship gave me the chance to help reinforce the institutional link between  UoB and USP , and one of the PhD students I supervise in Brazil will undertake a sandwich program at the Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham in 2017/18.

Ana Calindro, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) since August 2018. I was an Assistant Professor of the Portuguese Language Department at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) (2016 to 2018). I hold a bachelor's degree in Linguistics and Portuguese by the University of São Paulo (USP) (2006), a master's degree in Philology and Portuguese Language at USP (2009), a PhD in Philology and Portuguese Language at USP (2015) with a visiting PhD student period at the University of Cambridge (2014/2015). I completed a postdoctoral degree in linguistics at Unicamp (2016). I have experience in Linguistics and Portuguese Language, with emphasis on linguistic theory and analysis, syntax, diachronic syntax, historical linguistics and teaching Portuguese as a first and second language. I am currently involved with various research projects investigating variation and change in the history of Brazilian and European mentorship; theoretical linguistics in secondary education; combatting linguistic discrimination; and the grammar of Txapakura languages, an indigenous language branch of Brazil and Bolivia.

The collaboration with Dr Alice Corr in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham is entitled, 'Challenges for teaching Ibero-Romance languages in secondary schools and L2 acquisition'. The project focuses on best practice in grammar teaching and learning of modern languages in schools and universities, which focuses on the integration of insight and methodologies of theoretical linguistics to augment teaching and learning strategies for the acquisition of what teachers and learners perceive to be ‘difficult’ grammar points in Portuguese. 

Cassiano Isler, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)

Dr Cassiano Isler is a Lecturer and Research Fellow in Transport Engineering, University of São Paulo. He was a Lecturer in Transport Engineering at Federal University of Santa Catarina (Campus Joinville) 2015-2018. He completed his PhD on Socioeconomic Assessment of a Regional Railway Network for Passenger Transport, at University of São Paulo after being a Visiting Researcher to the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) of the University of Leeds in 2013.

Dr Isler has been awarded with the Brazil Visiting Fellows Scheme of the University of Birmingham and is conducting  research with Professor Clive Roberts of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education in the School of Engineering on railway infrastructure upgrade in Brazil, focusing on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. As a direct result of the programme, he has been nominated as an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Engineering from March 2019 to February 2021.

Isabella Paranaguá, Universidade Nove de Julho (UNINOVE)

Dr Isabella Paranaguá is a lawyer and professor in Civil Law and Human Rights. She completed her PhD in Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), and holds master’s degree in Political Science from the Federal University of Piauí (UFPI). She is an expert in Family Law and is the Current Vice-President of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality of the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (CFOAB).

Together with Dr Meghan Campbell from the Birmingham Law School, Isabella is undertaking a comparative study on ‘female gender patrimonial violence in marriage and the stable union: Brazil and the United Kingdom.’ 

Latif Khan, Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM)

Dr Latif Ullah Khan holds BSc (2003) from Gomal University Pakistan, MSc (2006) in Chemistry from University of Peshawar Pakistan, and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry (2015) at University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. His PhD thesis focused on exploring the luminescence and fundamental magnetic phenomena in reduced dimension lanthanides nanomaterials. His research at CNPEM centres on nano-bio interaction and distribution of magnetic and luminescent nanoparticles in biological specimens (e.g., zebrafish embryos), employing synchrotron X-ray fluorescence mapping in correlation with optical and hyperspectral imaging for the purpose of applications in nanomedicines (e.g., bioimaging and thermotherapy).

Collaborating with Professor Iseult Lynch in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, his research within the Brazil Visiting Fellows Scheme focuses on design and characterization of fluorescent bimetallic nanoparticles for the purpose of exploring their interactions with biomolecules in the environment (natural organic matter, secreted proteins, etc.) “nano-bio interface” and subsequent nanoecotoxicity in biological models (e.g., Daphnia magna).

Rafael Salgueiro, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES)

Holding an undergraduate degree in Sport, masters in Human Physiology, and PhD in Human Physiology from the Universiy of São Paulo, this collaboration with Dr Gareth Wallis in the School of Sport Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences aims to deepen the understanding of the effect of carbohydrate supplementation during exercise on human metabolism. Together with a hard working team across the department  a robust experiment to measure the galactose and glycogen concentration in human plasma and muscle respectively was created, and a range of date were identified related to galactose metabolism during exercise which they plan to develop further. 

Mariana Boroni, The Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA)

I am biochemist with a PhD in Bioinformatics and currently head of the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Lab at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Together with my research group, we have been focusing on the comprehensive characterization of molecular events in cancers through omics data analysis, as well as identification of new molecular markers that may impact the outcome of the disease. During the Brazil Visiting Fellows scheme, I had the opportunity to start collaborating with Professor Jean-Baptiste Cazier, director of the Centre for Computational Biology at the University of Birmingham. During the three months, we have investigated potential pathogenic variants in exome data of discordant monozygotic twins for acute myeloid leukaemia. In addition to bringing innovative ideas to this work, this opportunity has broadened my knowledge in variant analysis and other bioinformatics skills that will be passed on to my students. Moreover, the fellowship supported the partnership development and collaboration between the University of Birmingham and INCA, and gave us the opportunity to discuss other potential interests, opening up possibilities for a long-term collaboration.

Patricia Herkert, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ)

I have bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science from the Universidade Paranaense (2011), MSc (2014) and PhD in Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology from the Federal University of Paraná (2018). Currently I am working as a post-doctoral fellow at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Carlos Chagas Institute, Brazil, on a project entitled "Identification of inhibitors of the production of polysaccharides in Cryptococcus spp." which aims to verify the effect of drug-like compounds on the cryptococcal capsule, to check the effect of these compounds in the biological properties of extracellular vesicles (as cargo and structure), and to verify the influence of the compounds on the survival of Cryptococcus spp. inside macrophages and on the interaction between these cells. My fellowship at the University of Birmingham has given me the opportunity to spend time collaborating with Professor Robin May, together with colleagues from across the Institute of Microbiology and Infection. 

Claudio Zoppi, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

Dr Claudio Zoppi graduated in Sports Sciences and earned his MSc and PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and currently works in the Laboratory of Endocrine Pancreas and Metabolism at UNICAMP. Collaborating with Professor David Hodson from the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, the visiting fellowship has allowed them to investigate how exercise and diet signal pancreatic beta cells function and survival, focusing on diabetes pathophysiology. 

Francisco Gaudêncio M. Freires, Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA)

I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) Polytechnic School. I am also a professor at the Graduate Program in Industrial Engineering (PEI) at UFBA, researching the renewable energy alternatives from the perspective of supply chain management. I am currently conducting PhD supervisions on Renewable Energy Supply Chain Management, among then, I have an interest in Waste to Energy Management. 

In order to reduce dependence on oil and its derivatives, the Brazilian energy matrix underwent an intense transformation in the last 40 years, with a strong increase in renewable energy sources. Among the renewable sources, biomass bioenergy (an organic matter of animal or vegetable origin) is exploited directly through the combustion of organic matter in furnaces and boilers, and so this project in collaboration with Professor Gary Leeke from the School of Chemical Engineering is related to several areas of knowledge: Industrial Engineering, Management, Circular Economy and Renewable Energies. It also aims to strengthen the interdisciplinary training of lecturers, researchers and students (undergraduate, master, and doctorate) of the Energy and Gas Laboratory (LEN) linked to the Industrial Engineering (PEI) of the Polytechnic School of the State University of Bahia. In addition to the partnerships with researchers from the Energy and Environment Graduate Programs (CIEnAm) and Industrial Engineering (PEI) at UFBA, the aim is to establish a partnership with researchers from the University of Birmingham for technical and scientific cooperation in the field of modeling problems. The fellowship will help to facilitate the exchange of researchers from Brazil and the UK to share experiences and disseminate results in the area of ​​energy valuation of animal biomass.

Fernanda L. Brighenti, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)

The two main dental diseases, caries (decay), and periodontal (gum) disease which are prevalent in the population are caused by the development of a plaque biofilm. In caries the biofilm ferments dietary sugars that result in acid production and causes cavity development, whereas in periodontal disease the biofilm drives an exaggerated inflammatory response that is responsible for the hard and soft tissue loss characteristic of this disease.I have been working with natural products since my PhD. Although I have worked with a number of different bacterial species, I have particularly focused on cariogenic microorganisms and the ability of natural extracts to inhibit growth. This proposed collaboration will explore other bacteria and the potential for natural extracts to deliver additional anti-inflammatory benefits to the oral tissues

Collaborating with Professor Mike Milward and Professor Paul Cooper in the School of Dentistry, the aims of the fellowship are to assess the anti-biofilm properties of natural products by screening a wide range of natural plant derived products, investigate the potential anti-inflammatory effects of these products on oral epithelial cells, and Investigate any cytotoxic action of these products on oral cells. This fellowship will help to develop a long term collaboration with the School of Dentistry in Birmingham, develop research between the two Universities and allow my postgraduate students to strengthen their research within a global context. The possibility of evaluating additional biological activities of plant extract will further enhance my current research and allow me to establish new techniques in my home university.