Team

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.

Holds a degree in Biological Sciences: Microbiology and Immunology (2005-2008), a Master’s degree in Biophysics (2009), and a PhD in Biophysics (2014) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Has experience in the areas of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics, mainly working in the areas of computational structural biology, computer-aided drug design, and bioinformatics. Was a substitute professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro and a visiting professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). Also at Fiocruz, worked as a researcher in the Scientific Computing Program (2016-2018). Active as an associate researcher in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge (2018-2020). He has been a professor at the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics (UFRJ) since March 2020 and a member of the Fiscal Council of Espaço Ciência Viva (ECV) since May 2021. He has been the Vice-Coordinator of the Thematic Program in Molecular and Structural Biology at IBCCF (PBME) since 2022, the Deputy Coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Biological Systems (PPGESB) since 2024, and the Scientific Director of the Brazilian Biophysics Society (SBBf) since October 2025.

Researcher with experience in the field of Molecular Biophysics, with emphasis on Computational Biology and Molecular Modeling, mainly working in Molecular Dynamics, hydrostatic pressure, free energy calculations, and simulation of complex biological systems. Has experience in the study of protein folding/unfolding through molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent, including systems under high hydrostatic pressures, using force fields and tools from the GROMACS package.

Expertise in the use and development of improved sampling methodologies for investigating thermodynamic and conformational properties of biomolecules, including techniques such as Metadynamics, Umbrella Sampling, and Bennett’s Acceptance Ratio (BAR), with application in protein studies, including amyloid systems. Also has experience in Molecular Biology techniques, particularly PCR and recombinant DNA technology.

Currently, she conducts research focused on the interaction between biomaterials, especially proteins, and calcium carbonate-rich media, contributing to the understanding of molecular interactions in systems of biological and bioinspired interest, within the context of the NanoTeoria Rio/FAPERJ project. Her research interests also include the bioprotective effect of carbohydrates and osmolytes, particularly trehalose, in the structural stabilization of proteins.

In addition to her research activities, she actively participates in the supervision and academic development of undergraduate and graduate students, contributing to the training of human resources and the advancement of scientific projects in the field.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree (2019) and a Master’s degree (2022) in Biotechnology from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), as well as a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Biophysics) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). His research focuses on structural biology and computational biophysics, with emphasis on molecular modeling, quantum methods, and the analysis of biomolecular interactions. He has expertise in structural biology, including cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) techniques such as Single Particle Analysis (SPA), cryo-electron tomography (Cryo-ET), and Subtomogram Averaging (STA).

Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), with research focused on investigating pH-dependent structural changes in domain IV (DIV) of the glycoprotein G of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) using biophysical techniques. Master’s degree in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology from the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro), with a project aimed at identifying potential targets for antimicrobial peptides with antibacterial activity through molecular Docking methods. Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, Biophysics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), awarded in 2026, with research dedicated to the investigation and characterization of the interaction between the cellular prion protein (PrPᶜ) and irisin using computational approaches in structural biology and molecular biophysics. Currently a postdoctoral researcher developing a project focused on peptide design based on the identification of key residues involved in the interaction between PrPᶜ and irisin.

Holds a degree in Computer Engineering (2010-2014) from the Catholic University of Petrópolis and a degree in Information and Communication Technology (2010-2013) from FAETERJ-Petrópolis. Earned an M.Sc. in Computational Modeling (2015-2017) from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora and a Ph.D. in Biophysics (2021-2025) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), at the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics.

During the Ph.D., completed a research period at the University of Cambridge as a visiting doctoral researcher, working on the development of computational pipelines to assess the impact of mutations on the druggability of targets from the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Research experience includes Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, with an emphasis on molecular docking, comparative protein structure modeling, and artificial intelligence. Also contributed to the development of OCDocker, a library designed for virtual screening and machine-learning-based consensus methods.

Currently a postdoctoral researcher in Biophysics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, with an active collaboration with Professor Andres Floto’s laboratory at the University of Cambridge.

PhD candidate in Biophysics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), supervised by Dr. Pedro Torres and co-supervised by Dr. Marisa Nicolás (LNCC). Holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in the same field from UFRJ, and carried out part of her doctoral research at the University of Cambridge through the CAPES/PDSE exchange program, joining Dr. Andres Floto’s lab to study metabolic adaptation mechanisms in pathogenic bacteria. Currently working on computational modeling of metabolic networks ond omics integration to investigate metabolic adaptive mechanisms in high-risk human pathogens such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, focusing on biofilm modeling and target prioritization for drug design in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Interested in systems biology and the application of physics and mathematics to biology, gender equality initiatives in STEM and open science advocacy.

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.

In 2025, she obtained a Master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PGBQBM) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Duque de Caxias campus. Her dissertation was titled “Search for virulence inhibitors for the control of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae infections: the Hcp2 protein of the Type VI secretion system as a target.” She was a former fellow of the Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ).

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, Biophysics with an emphasis in Biotechnology (2021) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias campus. During her undergraduate studies, she was an undergraduate research student at the Laboratory of Molecular Modeling and Dynamics (LMDM), located at the Center for Health Sciences (CCS) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Her project focused on the computational modeling of the Zika virus (ZIKV), and she was a former fellow of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) through the PIBIC program.

In 2026, she joined the PhD program in Biological Systems Engineering with the project titled “In Silico Study of the Evolution of Quantum Properties in the Antibody Affinity Maturation Process toward HIV Epitopes.”

Master’s student in the Biophysics Post-Graduate Program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2024-2026). I am currently a researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular Modeling and Dynamics (LMDM) within the Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute (IBCCF), focusing on computer-aided drug design (CADD). I am part of the project ‘Allosteric modulation of the Trypanosoma cruzi trypanothione reductase enzyme: A screening study guided by dynamic and structural characterization’. My research interests specifically include the protein dynamics of infectious agents.

Amanda Macedo Leandro is a biomedical scientist, licensed in Clinical Analysis, who graduated from Centro Universitário IBMR in 2021 and obtained a Master’s degree in Biological Sciences (Biophysics) from the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics (IBCCF/UFRJ) in 2026. She began her research career during her Master’s degree, completing part of her training at the Laboratory of Gene Therapy and Viral Vectors (LTGVV/UFRJ) and subsequently shifting her research focus to computational biology at the Laboratory of Molecular Modeling and Dynamics (LMDM/UFRJ). Prior to entering her Master’s program, she completed a voluntary internship at the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Cardiology (LCCM/UFRJ).

Her research focuses on computational biology, structural bioinformatics, virtual screening, and molecular dynamics, with applications in the investigation of novel bioactive compounds. During her Master’s degree, she investigated potential inhibitors of the catalytic subunit of human telomerase (hTERT) as a therapeutic approach against cancer. She is currently a PhD student in Biological Systems Engineering at UFRJ, where her research focuses on the development and application of integrated computational strategies for the identification and prioritization of human telomerase inhibitors, with an emphasis on improving the robustness of candidate prioritization and chemical diversity.

Masters student in Biophysics at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IBCCF - UFRJ). Her Masters project focuses on antichagasic potential investigation and applying computer-aided drug design (CADD) against a novel transmembrane receptor of Trypanosoma cruzi, in collaboration between the Laboratório de Modelagem e Dinâmica Molecular (IBCCF - UFRJ) and Laboratório de Bioquímica de Microorganismos (IMPG - UFRJ). She holds a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences: Biophysics, with an emphasis on Molecular Biophysics and Bioinformatics. She has experience in Biophysics, particularly on Computational Structural Biology.

Graduated in Biological Sciences with an emphasis on Biotechnology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Duque de Caxias Professor Geraldo Cidade Campus, he developed a strong academic background in both experimental and computational research. During his undergraduate studies, he served as an Undergraduate Research Fellow (PIBIC/CNPq) at the Multidisciplinary Center for Research in Biology (NUMPEX-Bio), working in the field of Endocrine Physiology and gaining experience in both in vivo and in silico approaches. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Biocomputation in UFRJ’s Graduate Program in Biological Systems Engineering, affiliated with the School of Chemistry, where his research focuses on machine learning-based QSAR.

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.

He holds a degree in Biological Sciences (Biotechnology) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a technical qualification in Environment from Colégio Estadual Presidente Kennedy, certified by CRQ-III. He was an undergraduate research fellow (CNPq) at the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics (IBCCF/UFRJ), working in the field of molecular modeling and dynamics at the Laboratory of Molecular Modeling and Dynamics on a project characterizing large-amplitude movements in the enzyme 1,4-beta-endoglucanase. He has an interest in the environmental sector and experience in teaching, having served as a volunteer Natural Sciences tutor for a community-based preparatory course for university entrance exams and technical education in the Baixada Fluminense region.

Master’s student in the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences (Biophysics) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences: Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics from UFRJ. Has practical laboratory experience in Microbiology and Bioinformatics. Currently developing a Master’s thesis focused on molecular modeling and drug design at the Molecular Modeling and Dynamics Laboratory, Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute (UFRJ), under the supervision of Professor Pedro Pascutti, PhD.

Master’s student in Biological Systems Engineering at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ). Experienced in scientific research through undergraduate research projects developed at IFRJ and the National Institute of Technology (INT), with a focus on biomaterials, biochemistry, microbiology, and natural products. Currently developing chimeric proteins for dengue diagnosis, involving computational modeling and in silico analysis at the Molecular Modeling and Dynamics Laboratory (LMDM) of the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics (IBCCF/UFRJ), in conjunction with their in vitro characterization and testing at the Yeast Molecular Biology Laboratory of the Leopoldo de Meis Institute of Medical Biochemistry (IBQM/UFRJ).

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.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biomedicine from the IBMR University Center. She completed an internship at the Ipanema Federal Hospital in the Pathological Anatomy laboratory from 2024 to 2025, focusing on basic to advanced macroscopic techniques, where she was recognized as a standout student, responsible for welcoming new interns and staff and assisting with training and orientation in the laboratory. She also participated in a research internship on the project titled “Traditional Peoples, Ancestral Knowledge, and the Antimicrobial Potential of Plants Used by a Quilombola Population” from 2023 to 2025, one of the pioneering research projects at her university, with an emphasis on presentations at national events and at Fiocruz RJ. In addition to her solid experience in pathology and microbiology, she has a keen interest in neuroscience and its various branches and has sought to gain experience in this field. Currently, she is a student in the Undergraduate Research Program at the Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases (LDN) and the Laboratory of Molecular Modeling and Dynamics (LMDM), where she is receiving training in bioinformatics techniques, particularly modeling, docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and databases, to apply them to neuroscience research. She is constantly striving to better understand the microscopic and macroscopic worlds around her for the sake of health and research, with music and the arts as her allies.

Former ISMART (Instituto Social para Motivar, Apoiar e Reconhecer Talentos) Scholar (2017-2021). Currently an undergraduate student in Biological Sciences: Biophysics, with an emphasis on Molecular Biophysics and Bioinformatics, at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Member of the Laboratory of Modeling and Molecular Dynamics (LMDM), conducting an undergraduate research project focused on the in silico validation of a target receptor analysis for Chagas Disease treatment.

Sixth-semester undergraduate student in Biological Sciences, specializing in Biophysics with an emphasis on Bioinformatics. Member of the Molecular Modeling and Dynamics Laboratory for two years, working with molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulations using implicit solvent models to study molecules of interest in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Undergraduate student in Microbiology and Immunology, with a focus on computational biology applied to Immunology. Currently studying the feasibility of computational approaches for the development of nanobodies targeting neglected diseases.

I am Danielle, a Biomedical Sciences undergraduate at Veiga de Almeida University and an undergraduate research student at the Laboratory of Molecular Dynamics and Modeling (LMDM). My academic journey has been shaped by hands-on experience in biocomputational approaches, with a particular focus on protein structural modeling, molecular dynamics, and computational analysis. Through my research activities, I have been developing skills in computational methods for studying protein structure, dynamics, and molecular interactions.

Undergraduate student in Biomedicine at Universidade Estácio de Sá. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems and an MBA in Project Management. He has previous professional experience in Information Technology, having worked as a Business Analyst and Business Intelligence Developer at large companies, including IBM.

He is currently an undergraduate research student working with computational modeling and molecular dynamics of biomolecular systems. His academic path aims to integrate his background in technology with the biomedical sciences, with interests in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Molecular Biophysics, and the application of computational methods to the study of biological systems.

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.

Holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1971), a master’s degree in Physics from the Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas (1974) and a doctorate in Science (Physics) from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium (1980). He is currently Full Professor at the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. His work spans Physics, Physical Chemistry and Biophysics, with an emphasis on molecular, cellular and systems biophysics, and centres on biological systems, structural biology, atomic force microscopy, molecular modelling, bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Priscila da Silva Figueiredo Celestino Gomes is an Assistant Professor (Maître de conférences) at Université Marie et Louis Pasteur in Besançon, France, where she conducts research in computational biophysics and molecular modeling. She holds a joint PhD in Biophysics and Life Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and ENS Cachan (France) and has carried out research in Brazil, France, and the United States, including at the University of Strasbourg and Auburn University. Her work combines molecular dynamics simulations, computational modeling, and artificial intelligence to investigate biomolecular interactions, with a particular interest in the mechanobiology of microbial adhesion and its implications for health. She is also actively involved in teaching, scientific outreach, and initiatives that foster international collaboration within the computational biophysics community.