Evidence based Medicine and Practice
Open Access

Biography

I have a broad background in psychiatry and neuroscience, with specific training and expertise in neuroimaging, psychopharmacology and clinical trials. My research career began studying schizophrenia, did a PhD at King's College London about in vivo molecular neuroimaging psychopharmacology of glutamate and dopamine systems. I have returned to Brazil and to lead the most important clinical-neuroscience groups in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (PROESQ). I have created the Program for High Risk Psychosis and Bipolar (PRISMA), the most important program Latin America. During this period, I have set up a cutting edge clinical neuroscience interdisciplinary laboratory (LiNC) focused in translational neuroscience including functional, structural and molecular neuroimaging, genetics, cognition, biomarkers, and molecular biology in animal and human models. I have conducted several clinical trials focusing in treatments for schizophrenia, including industry new compounds, and innovative behavior and pharmacological strategies. The teams have been very successful in obtaining grants, which allowed us to study large cohorts. The team obtained two of the largest research grants in Brazil focused in the early stages of mental disorders, “Prevention in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder from Neuroscience to Community: a Multi-Staging, Multimodal and Translational Platform for Investigation and Intervention”. Several studies have been published combining the methodologies used at the LiNC in the different stages of psychosis. The major grant of the team is one of the countries’ National Institute of Science and Technology named National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry. I am the leader of the “High Risk Cohort” for mental disorders that follow 2,500 6-12 years old (700 subjects were submitted to a multimodal evaluation including structural and functional MRI, DNA, RNA, peripheral biomarkers, and cognition) with three years follow up already completed. The research structures together have been producing not only several high impact scientific articles (>200 papers) and patents. I have been considered a top ranked researcher (1-A) according to the Brazilian government agency (CNPq).

Research Interest

Psychiatry; Neuroscience; Neuroimaging; Psychopharmacology; Clinical trials; Schizophrenia; Bipolar disorder