A native of Grenoble, France, Hugo Aguilaniu has been the CEO of the Serrapilheira Institute since 2017. He earned his degree in agronomy in Bordeaux and continued his studies in Sweden, where he received his Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Chalmers University of Technology in 2003. He then served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute (La Jolla, CA, USA) from 2003 to 2006, where he studied the aging process. In 2006, he joined the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France), where he became scientific director in 2011. He led a laboratory that continued to study the molecular basis of the aging process at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon from 2007 to 2017.

He was a member of the CNRS national committee from 2016 to 2017, received an ERC grant and the CNRS bronze medal in 2015. For several years, he maintained close collaboration with partner laboratories at the University of São Paulo (USP) and led several institutional initiatives between the ENS de Lyon and USP.

Aguilaniu was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Faperj (the public funding agency of the state of Rio de Janeiro) from 2020 to 2025. A native of Grenoble, France, Hugo Aguilaniu has been the director-president of the Serrapilheira Institute since 2017. He graduated as an agronomist in Bordeaux and continued his studies in Sweden, where he earned his Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Chalmers University in 2003. He then served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute (La Jolla, CA, USA) between 2003 and 2006, where he studied the aging process. In 2006, he joined the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France), where he became scientific director in 2011. He led a laboratory that continued to study the molecular basis of the aging process at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon from 2007 to 2017.

He was a member of the CNRS national committee from 2016 to 2017, received an ERC grant and the CNRS bronze medal in 2015. For several years, he maintained close collaboration with partner laboratories at the University of São Paulo (USP) and led several institutional initiatives between the ENS de Lyon and USP.

Aguilaniu was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Faperj (the public funding agency of the state of Rio de Janeiro) from 2020 to 2025.

An administrator who graduated from DeVry Ruy Barbosa College, he specializes in municipal public management from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), has a master’s degree in international development policy (Duke University), and is pursuing a doctorate in sociology (IESP-UERJ). He has worked in social organization management, project coordination, and public management. At Serrapilheira, he is part of the science support team, acting as a manager.

Neves has a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a PhD in Neurosciences from the same institution. He did research on the evolution of the nervous system and of cognition. He was part of the coordinating team for the Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative, working on metascience, biostatistics, reproducibility, and scientometrics. He serves on the Board of Directors of ASAPBio, an organization that promotes transparency in scientific communication in the life sciences. At Serrapilheira, he is responsible for initiatives supporting science and for impact assessment.

Felizi has a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Russian and Portuguese literature from the University of São Paulo (USP) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She coedited the book Brasil em Movimento – Reflexões sobre os Protestos de Junho (Rocco) and has directed projects focused on art, technology, and activism for third-sector organizations (CulturaDigital.Br, ITS-Rio), television (MTV, Canal Curta), radio, print media, exhibitions, and digital platforms (Panfletos da Nova Era, Jorge Mautner’s web portal). At Serrapilheira, she directs Journalism and Media initiatives.

Journalist and PhD in Communication and Culture at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. She has worked in civil society organizations for over ten years, with experience in Brazil and abroad. She has experience in the area of Communication, with an emphasis on culture, race, corporeality and human rights, in addition to writing, editing and publishing journalism content; digital communication; audiovisual production; socio-cultural projects and research. At Serrapilheira, she is responsible for the management and monitoring of Journalism and Media projects.

Bachelor’s degree in Literature from PUC-Rio and a Master’s degree in Translation from Colegio de México (Mexico City). With a decade of experience in educational projects and as an editor and translator for foreign companies, academic institutions, and media outlets, she expanded her education with postgraduate degrees in Knowledge Management (COPPE – UFRJ) and Project Management (PUC-Rio). At Serrapilheira, she directs the Training Program in Quantitative Ecology, blending operational responsibilities with articulating collaborative efforts within the scientific community.

Bachelor in Cultural Production from Universidade Federal Fluminense, she received the Academic Laureate Excellence Award in recognition of UFF students’ merit. She worked as a producer on educational projects in museums and cultural spaces in Rio de Janeiro with a focus on the administrative area. She also contributed to social impact events in the third sector. At Serrapilheira, she is responsible for the operational aspects of the Quantitative Ecology Training Program.

Journalist with a degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a lawyer from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Unirio), she’s attending a master’s degree in science communication at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ). She has 14 years of experience in science communication, scientific journalism, institutional communication, communication strategy, and digital media, and has worked in the Communications area of scientific institutions such as Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), National Institute of Translational Neuroscience (INNT) and Oncobiology Program at UFRJ. She also worked as a reporter at O Estado de São Paulo newspaper. At Serrapilheira, she coordinates the Communications area, including PR, social media, website and institutional communications, and she also coordinates and edits the Ciência Fundamental column at Folha de São Paulo.

Undergratuated in Journalism from Higher Education Institute of Brasília, he worked as a reporter in print newspappers, magazine and website vehicles. Since 2016 he has been directing his experience in journalism towards the production of informative content on social networks, creating different engagement strategies and adaptation for the various platforms. Covered for independent vehicles, national and international, human rights, new business and social impact issues. At Serrapilheira he is responsible for defining campaigns, producing content for the website and digital media and interacting with the audience.

She holds a degree in Media Studies from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), a master’s degree in Communication from the same university and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Communication at PUC-Rio. She has been working in the third sector since 2018, focusing on causes such as childhood and children’s rights, women’s participation in politics, and biodiversity conservation. At Serrapilheira, she is responsible for the website and the organizational side of communications.

Pharmacist graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) with a Master’s and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the same institution. She was part of the coordinating team of the Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative, and her research also covers other topics in metascience. At Serrapilheira, she works as a data manager.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Northern Paraná (Unopar), a specialization in financial management from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (Ufes), and specializations in human resources management and public management from UniDoctum. She also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). With over 20 years of experience in contract and project management in public and private organizations, she has developed a strong track record in the administrative, financial, and management areas. She is a co-editor of the e-book Democratizando a Lei. At the Serrapilheira Institute, she is responsible for administrative and financial management, overseeing the planning, control, and execution of the administrative, financial, and operational processes that support the institution’s activities.

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Certified in IT from Cedaspy and in administration from Inep. Operations assistant at Serrapilheira, providing support for administrative and logistical processes, as well as ensuring the smooth operation of the office.

Francilene Procópio Garcia works in the management of ST&I programs, with an emphasis on: managing the impact of IT on production systems, planning and management of innovative ventures, and planning and evaluating public policies in ST&I. She is a professor at the Federal University of Campina Grande. She served as secretary of the Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência from 2021 to 2023, as vice president from 2023 to 2025, and is currently president of the SBPC, a position she will hold until 2027.

Full professor at the School of Education of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and former coordinator of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Program at the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp).

Sameer Padania is an expert and consultant on policies, practices, and funding related to independent journalism and information ecosystems. He works with independent media outlets, funders, investors, civil society, businesses, think tanks, and governments. He heads the independent consulting firm Macroscope (United Kingdom) and is a visiting researcher in the German Marshall Fund’s Cities Program.

Graciela Selaimen is the founder and executive director of the Toriba Institute, which brings together philanthropy, civil society, governments, artists, and storytellers to create narratives and reimagine futures with a focus on the Global South. She is a journalist with a master’s degree in Communication and Culture from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, specializing in the planning of immersive experiences and future design.

She is the rector of Leiden University (Netherlands) and a professor of science, technology, and innovation studies at the Center for the Study of Science and Technology (CWTS).

Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Princeton University, Agustín Fuentes is an anthropologist whose research focuses on the biosocial, investigating the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, our ancestors, and some of the other animals with whom humanity shares close relationships. Fuentes is interested both in the big questions and the small details of what makes humans and our close relatives tick.

She leads the team at Addgene—a nonprofit repository that provides genetic materials and educational tools to researchers. She is also active in promoting open science and reproducible research.