Hugo Aguilaniu is native from Grenoble, France. He was trained as an agronomist in Bordeaux, France and pursued his studies in Sweden where he obtained his PhD in molecular genetics from Chalmers University in 2003. He then was 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 Nationale pour la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France) where he became a science director in 2011. He led a laboratory that continued studying the molecular basis of the aging process at the Ecole normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon) from 2007 to 2017.

Dr. Aguilaniu was a member of the CNRS national committee from 2016 to 2017. He was awarded an ERC grant and the CNRS bronze medal in 2015. During a few years, he maintained a strong collaboration with partner labs at the University of São Paulo (USP) and led some institutional initiatives between the ENS de Lyon and USP. In 2017, he was selected to assume the direction of the Serrapilheira Institute in Rio de Janeiro. He is also member of the Board of trustees of FAPERJ (the public funding agency of the state of Rio de Janeiro) since 2020.

Caldas is a biologist specializing in the study of the humanization of antibodies and autoimmunity in the context of transplants. She has a PhD in immunology from the University of São Paulo (USP), a master’s in molecular biology from the University of Brasília (UnB), and a specialization in scientific journalism from the University of Campinas (Unicamp), where she took part in studies of the public perception of science. She served as a visiting research fellow at the Center for International Studies (MIT). Caldas was president of the SciBr Foundation, a nonprofit located in Cambridge, Massachusetts which promotes interdisciplinary knowledge networks, connecting Brazilian researchers who work abroad. At Serrapilheira, she directs scientific research initiatives, ranging from calls for proposals to an active search for researchers and projects.

Chagas has an undergraduate degree in Administration from Faculdade DeVry Ruy Barbosa, specialization degree in Municipal Public Management (UFBA) and a master’s degree in International Development Policy (Duke University). He has worked in social organizations management, projects coordination, as a research assistant and in public administration. At Serrapilheira, he is part of the Scientific Research team, acting as administrator.

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 of the Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative, working with metascience, biostatistics, reproducibility and scientometrics. He is part of the Board of Directors of ASAPBio, an organization that promotes transparency in scientific communication in the life sciences. At Serrapilheira, he works as manager in the Science Program, taking care of the program’s impact evaluation.

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 science outreach initiatives.

Journalist and PhD candidate 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 Science Outreach projects.

Undergratuated in Journalism from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and in Law from Federal University of State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), she has worked in the Communication team of scientific institutions such as Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), National Institute of Translational Neuroscience (INNT) and Oncobiology Program at UFRJ. She is experienced in covering areas such as Physics, Mathematics and Life Sciences. She worked as a reporter at O Estado de São Paulo newspaper. At Serrapilheira, she coordinates and produces content for the website, digital media and institutional communication, and coordinates and edits the Ciência Fundamental blog 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.

Bachelor of Arts in Letters from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), with an MBA degree on knowledge management from the Center of Reference in Business Intelligence (COPPE/UFRJ), an MBA degree on project management from IAG School of Business at PUC-Rio and a master’s degree in translation from El Colegio de México. She has worked as a proofreader and translator in the publishing market, various media, academic institutions and international companies in Brazil and abroad. At Serrapilheira, she is responsible for the management and monitoring of the Quantitative Ecology Training Program.

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 administrative and operational management of the institution and support for executive and programmatic management in logistics and events.

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. Was secretary of the SBPC in the last administration from 2021 to 2023 and elected to the current Board of Directors (2023-2025) for the position of vice-president.

Coordinator of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Program of the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

Board of Trustees – Fundação Champalimaud (Portugal)

Director of the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (EUA)

Group leader – Centre for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical Faculty / Biosciences Department KEMRI – Wellcome Trust (Germany/ Kenya)

Finnish ecologist and professor at the University of Zurich (Switzerland).

Director and professor at the Stockholm Resilience Center (Sweden)

President – Brazilian Academy of Sciences / Professor – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ (Brazil)

Colombian journalist, director and co-founder of the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP).

Professor – Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University (USA)