How does public governance interpret scientific knowledge, and how does it differentiate scientific evidence from misinformation? The “Science in Mind” project, spearheaded by the Vero Institute, aims to show how science informs decision-making within public bodies. The study will explore how decision-makers in public administration utilize scientific information, identifying the deliberative spaces where scientific, legal and political considerations converge.  Based on this critical analysis, the project will explore the competency and potential actions of each domain. The goal is to understand the interplay between the political and legal realms in the complex landscape of science-based policymaking and litigation in healthcare.

Meet the project team:

Caio Vieira Machado, the Executive Director of the Vero Institute, is currently a Ph.D. student at Oxford University, where he is researching the role of scientific disinformation in the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission on COVID-19 (COVID CPI). He holds a Master’s in Social Sciences from Oxford, a Master’s in Digital Law from the Sorbonne, and a Bachelor’s in Law from the University of São Paulo (USP).

Beatrice Bonami is the Head of Science and Innovation at the Vero Institute and is an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Ethics and Digital Humanities at the University of Tübingen in Germany. She holds a Ph.D. in Innovation, Education, and International Development from USP in Brazil, Sapienza in Italy, and UCL in the UK. Recently, she has gained experience as a Project Officer at UNESCO in France and as a Research Officer at the WHO in Switzerland.

Victor Vicente is Head of Content at the Vero Institute. He has an impressive academic background, with a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences from USP, a Master’s in Communication and Culture from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), a graduate degree in Digital Marketing and Design from the Higher School for Advertising and Marketing (ESPM), and a degree in Journalism from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). His professional experience includes his role as the Communications Coordinator at the Institute of Technology and Society (ITS) from 2015 to 2019, and as a Researcher at MediaLab.UFRJ between 2017 and 2019. Victor has a keen interest in technological applications that yield positive and distributed social impact.

Victor Durigan is the Institutional Relations Coordinator at the Vero Institute. He holds a law degree from USP, specializing in constitutional law and the legislative process. His professional experience spans public policy and institutional relations in the private sector, with roles in Brasília and São Paulo. Victor is keenly interested in the intersection of politics and technology, a topic he frequently explores in the Decoded newsletter.

Camila Tsuzuki is the Operations Coordinator at the Vero Institute. She has an impressive academic background, with a Master’s in Political and Economic Law from Mackenzie, a graduate degree in Electoral Law from the Institute for Democratic Development (IDDE), and degrees in Law from Mackenzie and Business Administration from the São Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP-FGV). She is an active member of the Working Group on Intermediary Liability of the Internet Society in Brazil and serves as a researcher at the Digital Law and Democracy Laboratory at Mackenzie.

Marcelo Soares is a researcher at Lagom Data, where he is currently investigating references to science during the Covid CPI. He will be collaborating as an external partner.