MARIANA VERAS

Role: Animal exposure experiments  

Research interest: environmental toxicology

Location: São Paulo, Brazil

I'm a biologist specialized in environmental toxicology. My research focuses on the effects that air pollution has on health and my speciality is to develop in vivo models that mimic human exposure. I'm very enthusiastic about any area of science and I love to work with multidisciplinary teams. Currently, I'm the Head of the Laboratory of Air Pollution at FMUSP, Brazil. I graduated in 2002 in Biology and  after working as a microbiologist in a company (food quality control) and realized that I needed to improve my career and started my Master in 2004. And, this opportunity made me realize that doing research was something that really makes me feel complete (speaking about job and career). During my Master I have done 3 different specialization courses (Cell Biology and HIstology, Developmental Biology and Stereology). In 2005 I started  my PhD in the lab, where now I am the Head. I am constantly improving my knowledge and skills, and currently I am working also in the area of Public police and  Epidemiology. 

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The thing that I love most about my job is that I do not have a routine, I always have something different to do and a new scientific challenge

My motivation is to improve the knowledge about the effects of air pollution on the kidneys. There are many gaps to be filled in this area. Another thing that makes me very happy is to  work with a high level international team of scientists and the opportunity to learn new techniques and improve my knowledge.