Our team

Professor PhD. Pedro Geraldo Pascutti

Received a PhD (1996) in physics from the University of São Paulo. He is a full-time Professor affiliated with the Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His professional interests are both theoretical and experimental biophysics, especially in molecular and structural biology.

He is the LMDM’s principal investigator, and, at the brazillian funding agency CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel), he is current the mananger of the interdisciplinary field and also member of the Scientific and Technical Committee.

Professor PhD. Pedro Henrique Monteiro Torres

Graduated in Biological Sciences: Microbiology and Immunology (2005-2008), has a Masters degree in Biophysics (2009) and Ph.D in Biophysics (2014) awarded by The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Has experience in microbiology, biochemistry and biophysics, actively working in the areas of computational structural biology, computer-aided drug design and and bioinformatics. Was substitute professor at The Rio de Janeiro State University and guest professor at The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). Also worked as a researcher at the Scientific Computing Program in Fiocruz (2016-2018) and as research associate at the Biochemistry Department of the University of Cambridge (2018-2020). Currently works as assistant professor at the Biophysics Intitute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

PhD. Ingrid Bernardes Santana Martins

Graduated in Biological Physics (2010-2013) at the Institute of Biosciences, Languages and Exact Sciences of the São Paulo State University (Ibilce/Unesp). Master’s degree (2014-2016) and PhD (2016-2021) in Molecular Biophysics at the same institution. Has experience on performing Molecular Dynamics simulations and Constant pH Molecular Dynamics of lipid bilayers, proteins and small ligands. Currently is a member of the LMDM and post-doc at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro under Prof. Dr. Pedro Geraldo Pascutti’s supervision.

PhD. Reinaldo Souza De Oliveira Júnior

Has experience in Molecular Biophysics, with emphasis on Computational Biology, working mainly on Molecular Dynamics (DM) in High Hydrostatic Pressures and Free Energy Calculations. He specializes in molecular techniques of Molecular Biology (PCR, Recombinant DNA Technology). Its main focus is on the application and development of methodologies for the study of protein unfolding via simulation (by DM) of systems at high pressure, in explicit solvent, using the force fields of the GROMACS package. The application of improved sampling techniques (Metadynamics, Bennett’s Aceptance Ratio - BAR, Umbrella Sampling and etc…) for the calculation of free energy of amyloid proteins. He is also interested in the bioprotective effect of certain carbohydrates, in particular the disaccharide trehalose, as well as in the action of other osmolytes on protein folding and unfolding.

MSc. Artur Duque Rossi

Graduated in Computer engineering (2010-2014) at the Catholic University of Petrópolis and in Information and Comunication Technology (2010-2013) at FAETERJ - Petrópolis. Has a master degree in Computational Modelling (2015-2017) at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. During its PhD, participated in a split-site doctoral program at the University of Cambridge, working on the development of pipelines for analyzing the impact of mutations on the druggability of targets from the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Has worked so far with bioinformatics and computational biology with an enphasis at the homology protein structure prediciton method and also in artificial intelligence. During the master degree has created part of the MHOLline 2.0 scientific workflow (www.mholline2.lncc.br). Currently is a PhD student in Biophysics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and its thesis theme is the creation of an artificial intelligence to generate a consesus of molecular docking scoring functions.

BSc. Camila Rodrigues Chaves

Graduated in Biological Sciences: Biophysics, with an emphasis in molecular biology and bioinformatics (2018-2021), at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Has research experience in bioinformatics, computational structural biology, bioenergetics and metabolism. Currently, it is an MSc student in Biological Sciences: Biophysics at UFRJ, working with metabolic pathways modelling as a tool to identify new targets for pharmacology intervention within infectious diseases. It is interested in mathematic and computational modelling of biological systems, computer-aided drug design and open science.

MSc. José De Anchieta De Oliveira Filho

Graduated in Biotechnology (2019) and a master (2022) in Biotechnology from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). Currently is a PhD student in Biophysics at the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Currently working with computer-aided drug design in the search for compounds to stimulate cardiac regeneration.

MSc. Nathalia Dos Santos Faria

She holds a degree in Biological Sciences - Biotechnology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She participated in Scientific Initiation at the NUMPEX-BIO laboratory, which belongs to UFRJ. She holds an academic master’s degree in Biotechnology from the National Institute of Metrology, Quality, and Technology (INMETRO). She was a Training and Capacity Building (TCT) scholarship holder at the Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases (LDN) at UFRJ. She is currently a PhD student in the Biological Sciences (Biophysics) program at IBCCF-UFRJ. She works with the analysis of protein-protein interactions through modeling methods and Molecular Dynamics (MD).

MSc. Thamires Rocco Machado

Degree in Pharmacy from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2019), with a specialization in Homeopathy and Clinical Analysis, and a master’s degree in Biological Sciences (Biophysics) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2021). She is currently a Ph.D. student at the Molecular Modeling and Dynamics Laboratory (LMDM) of the Biophysics Institute at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She has experience in molecular modeling and dynamics with an emphasis on drug design.

MSc. Vinnícius Machado Schelk Gomes

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with an emphasis on Biotechnology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). During my undergraduate studies, I was part of the Academic Center for Biological Sciences at the Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability and was a FAPERJ scholarship holder, gaining experience in Plant Stress Physiology and Cryopreservation of Reproductive Structures in cryptic species. Currently, I am a PhD candidate in Computational and Systems Biology at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), where I investigate the selectivity of the RND Efflux System associated with microbial resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa using Bioinformatics techniques. I also hold a Master’s degree from the Multicentric Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences at UFRJ, with a similar focus. I have participated in various student representations and have a series of scientific publications, including journal articles and book chapters. My work includes research on antibiotics, molecular dynamics, and microbial resistance, along with contributions to academic events and conferences. I have received academic recognition awards, such as the Mestrado Nota 10 from FAPERJ.

BSc. Henry Ferreira Monteiro Magalhães

Graduate in biological sciences with minor in biotechnology by the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ) (2013-2023). Have experience in cardiac physiology with emphasis in eletrophysiology. Besides this, has experience in computational biology focused on genomic analysis, proteomics and protein modeling of viral proteins and genes. Currently enrolled in the master’s course in Biological Science: Biophysics at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) with the research at the analysis, modeling and molecular dynamics of genes and proteins from historical pox vaccinies.

Aloisio Almeida De Souza

Student of the Biological Sciences course: Biophysics, at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He currently works at the Molecular Modeling and Dynamics Laboratory (LMDM), located at the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics (IBCCF). Research areas: Assessment of the Electronic Structure of Proteins, using Functional Density Theory (DFT) methods, with emphasis on protein-ligand interaction; Study on the distribution of frontier orbitals in enzymes, using semi-empirical methods; Calculations of theoretical spectra of natural pigments, using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) methods.

Beatriz Moura Da Silva

Undergraduate student in Biological Sciences: Biophysics with emphasis on Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, at Carlos Chagas Filho Institute (IBCCF) - UFRJ. Since 2021, she has been part of the Laboratory of Molecular Dynamics and Modeling (LMDM), where she carried out an internship on Machine Learning, supervised by PhD.Pedro H Monteiro Torres and co-supervised by MSc.Artur D. Rossi. Currently, she is carrying out a Scientific Initiation (SI) at LMDM in partnership with the Laboratory of Radiations in Biology (LaRBio), on “Analysis of regulatory regions of stress-related genes in Deinococcus bacteria”, with the guidance of PhD.Pedro H Monteiro Torres and the PhD. Claudia Lage.

Guilherme Ian Spelta

Undergraduate in Pharmacy at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) since 2019. Currently integrates the Molecular Dynamics and Modelling Laboratory (LMDM) in Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute (IBCCF) as undergraduate research student, working with drug design assisted by computational tools.

Luíza Furuno Machado

Undergraduate student in Biological Sciences with an emphasis on Genetics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and Software Engineering student at 42 | Rio. Participated in organizing the XXVII BioWeek UFRJ through the Academic Center of Biology-UFRJ (Cabio). Currently developing a tool for identifying protein cavities with pharmacological applications at the Laboratory of Molecular Modeling and Dynamics (LMDM) as part of a Scientific Initiation project. Interested in bioinformatics, seeking to learn and create computational tools to solve biological problems.

Maria Clara Esteves Monachesi

Undergraduate student in Biological Sciences: Biophysics - emphasys in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Currently is a scientific initiation student in LMDM, in a drug discovery project of a T. cruzi receptor, in partnership with the Laboratory of Biochemistry of Microorganisms (LBqM) from the Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Goés of UFRJ.

Marianna Zuin Maia Dos Santos

Undergraduate student in Biological Sciences, focusing on Byophysics, at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Has practical knowledge in microbiology and bioinformatics.

Gabriel Maia Sena

Web developer and Applied Mathematics student with a strong interest in Statistics and Scientific Computing. Experience in software development and technical writing for the private sector. I participated in various scientific events while studying Biophysics, with a main interest in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. Currently, I am enhancing my skills in my Scientific Initiation project - PIBIC/CNPq - applying computational statistical methods.

PhD. Antoniel Augusto Severo Gomes

Bachelor degree in Biological Sciences at the Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (2011), master degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Universidade Federal da Paraíba (2014), and PhD in General and Applied Biology (Biomolecules: Structure and Function) at the Universidade Estadual Paulista-João de Mesquita Filho (2019), with an internship at the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (ENS), France. Post-doctoral grant from CAPES/COFECUB, with six additional months financed by the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) at the Université de Montpellier, France (2019-2021); and post-doctoral researcher Júnior (CNPq) at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (2021-2022). Currently, I’m a post-doctoral researcher at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), focused on determining structural aspects of G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) at the atomic level to understand their function, using Structural Bioinformatics tools. I have expertise with Molecular Modeling, Molecular Docking, Molecular Dynamics, Normal Mode Analysis, Coarse-Grained atomic models, and enhanced-sampling methods as Molecular Dynamics excited with Normal Modes (MDeNM), Metadynamics, and Replica-Exchange.

Professor PhD. Paulo Mascarello Bisch

Possui Bacharelado em Fisica pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1971), Mestrado em Física pelo Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas (1974) e Doutorado em Ciências (Física) pela Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Bélgica (1980). Atualmente é Professor Titular do Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Tem experiência nas áreas de Física, Físico-Química e Biofísica, com ênfase em Biofísica Molecular, Celular e de Sistema, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: sistemas biológicos, biologia estrutural, microscopia de força atômica, modelagem molecular, bioinformática, genômica e proteômica.

Professor PhD. Manuela Leal Da Silva

She holds a degree in Industrial Chemistry from UFSM (2004), a Master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry from the Military Institute of Engineering (2007), and a Ph.D. in Sciences from the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics at UFRJ (2011). She completed postdoctoral fellowships at the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (France), at the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics - UFRJ, and at the National Institute of Metrology, Quality, and Technology. She is a Professor at the Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability (NUPEM/UFRJ) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ, and a Supervisor of the Multicentric Graduate Programs in Physiological Sciences at UFRJ (PPGMCF), in Biotechnology at Inmetro (PPGBiotec), and in Computational and Systems Biology at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (PGBCS/IOC/Fiocruz). She has experience in the areas of Computational Biology and Chemistry, Molecular Biophysics, Pharmacology, Structural Genomics, Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling, Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.

PhD. Tácio Fernandes (Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz - Rio De Janeiro)

Graduated in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) (2003-2007), he has a Masters degree in Biophysics (2009) and a Ph.D. in Biophysics (2014), both awarded by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Also worked as a technician at the INMETRO from 2012 to 2014. From 2014 to 2018, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, UFRJ. Subsequently, he worked as a research fellow at INMETRO from 2018 to 2021. Currently, he is employed as a research technologist at Farmanguinhos/FIOCRUZ. He has extensive experience in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Medicinal Chemistry, with particular emphasis on Macromolecular Biochemistry, Molecular Recognition, Molecular Modeling, Protein Structure Prediction, Protein Folding, Molecular Docking, Virtual Screening and Inverse Virtual Screening, Genotoxicity Prediction, Machine Learning, Generalized Simulated Annealing, Tsallis Statistics, and Molecular Dynamics.

Lilian Mendonça Alves De Oliveira

BSc. in Biological Sciences - Biophysics with an emphasis in biotechnology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) - Duque de Caxias campus. Currently has a Scientific Initiation student at LMDM’s laboratory. Her project has on a focus the Computational Modelling of the Zika Virus (ZikV).