Biography

I am a wildlife biologist, taxonomist, and public health scientist with an undergraduate degree in Biology and a Master's, PhD, and postdoctoral training in Zoology. Since 2006, I have worked as a scientist for the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), where I coordinate a multidisciplinary team at the Atlantic Forest Fiocruz Campus. I have honorary appointments as Affiliate Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (2019-2023), CNPq Research Productivity Fellow (2019-), Faperj Young Scientist (2018-2021), Faperj Scientist (2021-), and Research Associate at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (2015-). I was honored with the name of a species of bat from Ecuador, Myotis moratellii. I am a professor and advisor to Master's and PhD students at the graduate programs in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (CAPES 7); Public Health and Environment, National School of Public Health Sergio Arouca, Fiocruz (CAPES 5); and Biodiversity and Health, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Fiocruz (CAPES 5). My research is based on museum collections and fieldwork, and my interest is in One Health, extending through different topics in biodiversity, wild animals, animal and environmental health, and biodiversity conservation -- a research program I call applied zoology. My main projects are focused on (i) systematics of neotropical bats, (ii) surveys of mammal pathogens, (iii) animal-human coexistence, (iv) biological surveys in Brazil, and (v) biodiversity conservation in the Atlantic Forest. Projects have been supported by FAPERJ (Auxílio Instalação, APQ1, Jovem Cientista do Nosso Estado, Cientista do Nosso Estado, Instituições Sediadas no RJ, Grupos Emergentes de Pesquisa, Chamada Emergencial COVID-19, Projetos Temáticos), CNPq (Ciência sem Fronteiras, Produtividade em Pesquisa, Programa Editorial), Fiocruz (Programa Estratégico de Apoio à Pesquisa em Saúde), and the Smithsonian Institution. I have published > 90 peer-reviewed articles, books, and book chapters (> 2,514 citations, H-index = 27, i10-index = 52; Google Scholar Dez/23). Results of my research on taxonomy include descriptions of 13 new species and 1 new genus of South American bats and other nomenclatural acts (some of them highly profiled in the international press, including Nature, National Geographic, BBC, Discovery, and The Washington Post). Results of my research on mammal pathogens and zoonotic diseases include a review of bats and viruses and collaborations for surveys of trypanosomatids, viruses, bacteria, and fungi circulating in mammals (national and international media coverage includes CGTN, Associated Press, O Globo, and many other websites, TV, and radio programs). Since 2021, I have been the Editor-in-Chief of Zoologia, the journal of the Brazilian Society of Zoology. I have served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Mammalogy (American Society of Mammalogists; since 2015-), Mastozoologia Neotropical (Sociedade Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamíferos; 2019-2021), Zoologia (Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia; 2019-), and Biodiversity Data Journal (Pensoft; 2013-), and have served as a reviewer for > 50 journals. I also served as president of the Brazilian Bat Research Society (2010-2013, 2015-2017), and chair of its Education Committee, for which I organized trainings in bat biology for students and professionals across the country.