Carlini earned her PhD from the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, in 1985. She was appointed professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, and was a senior researcher at the Brain Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul. After her retirement, in 2022, she worked as an invited professor at UFRGS and the Federal University of Health Sciences, Porto Alegre. She is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and a research productivity fellow of the Brazilian CNPq. Carlini was a pioneer in proving the non-enzymatic properties of ureases, including their insecticidal, antifungal, and pro-inflammatory, and neurotoxic effects in rodents. Now, she studies how the ureases produced by Helicobacter pylori and Proteus mirabilis might contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. She was a referee for more than 60 international journals, science and technology funding agencies, and a member of the editorial board of Toxicon for 20 years, section editor of the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. Since 2020, she is an executive editor of Current Neuropharmacology.

Chaimovich is an Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, U. São Paulo (IQUSP), Brazil; Adjunct Coordinator for Special Programs, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). Former positions: Director, IQUSP; Research Provost, USP; President Brazilian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Vice-President of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, President of the Brazilian Science and Technology Council, CNPq; Vice-President for External Affairs, ICSU; Co-Chair, InterAmerican Network of Academies of Science. His research focuses on fundamental and applied aspects of surfactant aggregates in Chemistry and Biochemistry, including experimental and theoretical analysis of specific ion effects on the properties of surfactant aggregates. Prizes and Distinctions: Brazilian Order for Scientific Merit; TWAS Medal; Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques, France; Scopus Prize, Elsevier. He is a member of the Academies of Science of Brazil, Chile, Latin America, and Venezuela and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (USA). Contributes regularly to publications in national and international Science Policy.

Colli, a biochemistry professor at the U. of São Paulo (USP), received his PhD under the supervision of Isaias Raw and did postdoc work at PHRI, NYC, USA with M. E. Pullman (1966-1968) and M. Oishi (1968-1969). Returning to Brazil in 1970, he established a group, at the Ins. of Chem. (IQUSP), to work with Molecular Parasitology, particularly with Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas' disease. He was dean of IQUSP twice, and of the Butantan Inst. (the Snake Farm). He was pres. (2006-2009) of the Brazilian Technical Committee on Biosafety (CTNBio). He received the title of Doctor (h.c.) from the U. of Buenos Aires, the Great Cross Medal of the Natl. Order of Scientific Merit from the Brazilian govt. and is a member of the Brazilian Acad. of Sciences. In 2014 he was awarded the Almirante Álvaro Alberto Prize for Science and Techn., the most prestigious scientific prize in Brazil. Since 2003 he is an Associate to the Science Director of FAPESP for the areas of Health and Biology.

Cordani is emeritus professor, Institute of Geosciences, University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. He was trained in geochronology at UC Berkeley (1963) under the guidance of John Reynolds, and obtained his DSc (USP) in 1968. In the 60’s he established a geochronological laboratory that gained international recognition. At the USP he was director of the Institute of Geosciences (1987-1991) and Institute of Advanced Studies (1994-1997). He was president of the International Union of Geological Sciences (1988-1992) and the 31st International Geological Congress (Rio de Janeiro, 2000). He has published ca. 280 scientific articles, and received many awards, among which the Great Cross of Scientific Merit (Brazil), the José Bonifacio Gold Medal (Brazilian Geological Society), and the TWAS medal lecture. He is member of the academies of science of Brazil, Argentina, France and Portugal.

Cordoba De Torresi is professor, Institute of Chemistry of the University of São Paulo (USP). She graduated in chemistry (1983) and got her PhD (1988) at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina, working with electrochemistry, spectroscopy and materials science. After a postdoctoral internship at Université Pierre et Marie Curie, National Centre for Scientific Research, France (1988–1990), she moved to Brazil as a researcher at State University of Campinas and Federal University of São Carlos. She joined the Institute of Chemistry, USP in 1996, and became a full professor in 2006. She has served as president of the Undergraduate and Graduate Commissions and vice-provost of research of USP. Her main interests are research on electrochromism, chemical sensors and electrocatalysis enhanced by plasmonics. She received: Tajima Prize from the International Society of Electrochemistry; National Order of Scientific Merit, Commander category, from the Presidency of the Republic; American Chemical Society Award for Brazilian Women in Chemistry, Scientific Leader category. She is a Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and of the Academy of Sciences of the State of São Paulo.

B.Sc., Mech.& Nuclear Eng., Federal Univ. of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Brazil, 1981, PhD, Mech.&Aerospace Eng., North Carolina State Univ., USA, 1985. Assoc. Professor, UFRJ, 1987, Professor, 1994. Author, 570 papers, 10 books, Supervisor, 49 MSc, 38 PhD, 17 PosDoc. 15 Editorial Boards incl. Int. J. Heat & Mass Transfer. Editor, Annals Braz. Academy of Sciences. President, Braz. Assoc. Mechanical Sciences, ABCM, 2000-2001, Scientific Council, Int. Centre for Heat & Mass Transfer, ICHMT, from 1993, Exec. Comm., from 2006, EC Chairman 2017-2018. Congress Comm., Int. Union of Theor. & Applied Mech., IUTAM, 2012-2018. Exec. Comm., Braz. Academy of Sciences, 2012-2015. ICHMT Hartnett-Irvine Award, 2009 & 2015. ICHMT Fellowship Award, 2019. Nat. Order of Scientific Merit, 2009 & 2018 (Grã-Cruz), Nat. Order of Naval Merit, 2018. Member, Braz. Acad. of Sciences, 2009, Nat. Eng. Acad., 2011, The World Acad. of Sciences, TWAS, 2012. Doctor Honoris Causa, Univ. de Reims, France, 2018. President, Nat. Comm. of Nuclear Energy, CNEN, 2015-2017. Leverhulme Visiting Prof,Univ. College London, UK. Senior Tech. Counselor, DGDNTM, Braz. Navy, from 2017. Member National Council of Energy Policy, 2020-2022

Davidovich was educated at the Pontificia U. Catolica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the U. of Rochester, USA (PhD 1975). He is full professor of physics at the Federal U. of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has held several visiting positions in France, Germany, USA and UK. His interests cover quantum optics and quantum information. His research has focused on the emergence of the classical world from the quantum substrate; laser theory; cavity quantum electrodynamics; quantum entanglement; and quantum metrology. He is member of the Braz. Acad. of Sci. and Foreign Associate of the US Natl. Acad. of Sci. (since 2006). He is Fellow of the Optical Soc. of Am. and of the Am. Physical Soc.. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Natl. Order of Scientific Merit, Brazil (2000), the TWAS Physics Prize (2001), and the Braz. Natl. Prize of Sci. (2010). He was member of the Executive Board of ICSU (2011-2014). He has been President of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences since May 2016.

Dezotti (DSc, 1992, University of Campinas, Brazil) is Professor at COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She received more than 30 awards, among which the COPPE Giulio Massarani Award - Academic Merit by COPPE/UFRJ (2010), in recognition of her scientific production of the highest level. She was awarded four times as Scientist of Our State from the Amparo Research Foundation of State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Brazil. For the consolidation of the national research in Advanced Oxidation Processes (POAs), she received a tribute of the VIII Meeting on Oxidative Processes and II Iberoamerican Conference on POA (2015). She coordinated numerous projects with industries. She has published three books that are adopted as a reference in Brazilian universities. She has published in the best international journals, had outstanding performance in the training of MSc and DSc students and is one of the most cited researchers in Brazil, in the area of chemical engineering. Additionally, she is Founding Member of the COPPE Women Support Group. She was elected Full Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in 2020 in recognition of her scientific production and its impact in Brazil.

De Gouveia Dal Pino (PhD in astronomy, University of São Paulo, 1989) is full professor, Department of Astronomy, Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo (IAG-USP), Brazil. She had postdoctoral affiliation at Harvard University (1991–1993), and was associated researcher at International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy (1994–2001). She introduced in Brazil high-performance magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations to model astrophysical sources: from solar interior, star formation regions, jets and black holes, to galaxy clusters. She has pioneering studies on MHD turbulence, magnetic reconnection, and cosmic ray acceleration in magnetized systems. She is Brazilian principal investigator of the largest gamma-ray observatory in construction, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), and of ASTRI Mini-Array—precursor of CTA. She is Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Brazilian Astronomical Society. She was awarded the Claudia Prize of Woman in Science (2017), and holds the Jabuti Award for Best Scientific Book (2001). She supervised PhD thesis with national honors and Best Theses in Astronomy of IAG-USP.

De Mello obtained his BSc in biochemistry in 1968, MD in 1972, MSc in biophysics in 1973 and PhD in 1980. He is professor of biophysics at the Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho since 1993 and head of the Laboratory of Neurochemistry since 1982. He was previously: Fogarty visiting scientist at the National Institutes of Health from 1973-76; assistant professor, vice director, and director at the Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho between 1978-97; research associate professor at Northwestern University between 1984-86; and Guggenheim fellow in 1984. He was awarded the Gustavo Lessa Award from the Brazilian-American Institute in 1982. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Latin American Academy of Sciences. In April 2015 he became Emeritus Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Dellagostin obtained his PhD in 1995, from the University of Surrey (UK), and is now full professor of biotechnology at the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil. His research focuses on the development of recombinant vaccines and biotechnological innovations for the prevention of infectious diseases in animals. He has trained numerous Master of Science and PhD students and led high-impact research projects. He is currently president of the Research Foundation of the State of Rio Grande do Sul and chair of the board of directors of the Centre for Strategic Studies and Management. He served two terms as president of the Brazilian National Council of State Research Funding Agencies, where he played a leading role in shaping public policy for science, technology and innovation in Brazil. He has represented Brazil in international scientific partnerships and serves on advisory boards and evaluation committees nationally and abroad. In 2018, he was elected to the Brazilian Academy of Science for his contributions to science and policy in Latin America.

Fontes is a professor at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), coordinator of the National Institute of Science and Technology in plant-pest interaction, and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Science and the National Order of Scientific Merit by the Brazilian Presidency. She was the coordinator of graduate programmes at UFV, head of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, scientific director of the Arthur Bernardes Foundation, and member of the CNPq Genetics Advisory Committee and Fapemig Agricultural Advisory Committee. She is a member of the CAPES Evaluation Committee of Graduate Programmes in biotechnology and serves as a monitoring and associate editor for scientific journals. She received numerous prestigious awards, including the Marcos Luiz dos Mares Guia Award, senior researcher category by the Secretary of Science and Technology of MG, Capes Thesis Advising 2021 Award and Honorable Mentions, Nano Cell Institute Award, Winner of the II Scientists and Entrepreneur of the Year, Fundação Arthur Bernardes Award for research achievement and Peter H. Rolfs Medal of Merit in Research by UFV.

Garcia (Ph.D. 1990, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Professor at the Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. A member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and São Paulo State Academy of Sciences. She is a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow and an editor at Current Opinion in Microbiology, Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, Methods X, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences and Associate Editor of Current Research of Microbial Sciences ( 2020- ). Integrated several committees in Brazilian funding agencies and is a consultant of several international agencies such as Welcome Trust, European Research Council, US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, Medical Research Council. Chair of the International Affairs Committee at The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) and a collaborator of the Provost of Post-Graduation at the University of São Paulo.

Grossi de Sa (PhD, 1987, U. Paris VII) is the head of the Plant-Pest Molecular Interaction Group, EMBRAPA Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (1989-) and professor, Catholic U. of Brasília (2004-). She was president, Brazilian Soc. of Biotechnology; coordinator, Area of Biotechnology (2008-13) and member, CTC-ES, CAPES, Brazil (2008-14). Currently, she is member, Internatl. Advisory Committee, CAPES, and full member, Brazilian Acad. of Sciences. She is a recipient of the Scopus Award 2010 (Elsevier/Capes). Her research emphasizes on plant biotechnology, acting on themes, which include plant defense proteins (proteinase inhibitors, alpha-amylase inhibitors, lectins, defensins, osmotins), insecticidal proteins, plant-pests molecular interaction, development of GM plants for tolerance/resistance to biotic stress and abiotic stress and development of biopharmaceuticals.

Heilbron earned a Bachelor of Science (1980) and a Master of Science in geology (1984) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and a PhD in geosciences from São Paulo University (1993). She carried out postdoctoral studies at the Université du Québec à Montréal, working with Uranium–lead dating geochronology (2000–2001), and at Salzburg University, Austria (2018–2019), where she carried out Argon-Argon geochronology and tectonics. She completed her senior internships at Mainz University, Alberta University at Edmonton, ANU in Australia and Portsmouth University, UK. Presently, she is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Science and TWAS. In 1983, she joined the Geology Institute of Rio de Janeiro State University as a full professor. Besides teaching, she coordinated the postgraduate programme, and directed the Geology Institute (2003–2006). She served as the provost of postgraduate studies and research (2000–2015), and was appointed director of the International Office of UERJ in 2024. She is head of the GeoAtlantic Institute (CNPq) and of the Tektos Research Group developing research and applied projects.

Hungria got her PhD in Agronomy (Soil Science) from Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and held postdoctoral positions at the universities of Cornell, California-Davis (USA) and Seville (Spain). She has been a Researcher at Embrapa since 1982, at Embrapa Soja (Londrina) since 1991, and a Researcher of National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) since 1992. She is a Professor of microbiology and biotechnology at the University of Londrina, and supervised more than 100 MSc and PhD students. Her experience is in agronomy with emphasis on soil biotechnology: biological nitrogen fixation, biodiversity; taxonomy and phylogeny of prokaryotes, microbial ecology, soil microbiology, plant growth promoting bacteria; plant physiology; inoculant production; technologies of inoculation; omics sciences; microbial culture collections. She has over 500 refereed scientific articles, book chapters, books and technical publications. She launched more than 20 technologies, including microbial strains and commercial inoculants. She received more than 20 prizes, including the TWAS-Lenovo Science Award (2020). She is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.

Hutz graduated in biology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in 1973 and obtained her PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology from UFRGS in 1981. She was postdoctoral fellow at the Division of Pediatric Genetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (1982-1983); professor at the Department of Genetics at UFRGS. She was vice-president and president of the Brazilian Society of Genetics. Hutz has more than 270 published articles and an ISI h-index of 40. Her research field and experience is in genetics, with emphasis on human and medical genetics. In 2010, she received the SCOPUS-Brazil award and her PhD students obtained the CAPES Thesis Award by the Brazilian Ministry of Education, and Honorable Mention of same award in 2011 in the area of biological sciences. She was appointed as a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in 2011. Hutz was honored at the 60th Brazilian Congress of Genetics for her relevant contribution to the field. Her research aims to the diversity of the human genome and its effects on susceptibility to multifactorial diseases, and pharmacogenomics mainly of psychiatric disorders and infectious diseases.

Professor of Physics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) since 2002, Jorio de Vasconcelos earned his doctoral degree in physics from the same institution in 1999, working with phase transitions in incommensurate systems. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA (2000–2001), where he worked with the optical properties of nanomaterials, focusing on Raman spectroscopy and optical properties of carbon nanomaterials. Back to Brazil, he founded the Laboratory of NanoSpectroscopy (LabNS) at UFMG in 2006, where he works with research and development of scientific instrumentation in optics for the study of nanostructures with applications in new materials and biomedicine. He held the positions of Coordinator of Strategic Studies and Information at Inmetro (2008–2009) and Director of Technological Transfer and Innovation (2010–2012), head of the Physics Depart, and Dean of Research (2016–2018) at UFMG. He was a Visiting Professor at the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 2013) and at the Freie Universitat, Berlin, Germany (2016).