Members

Professors

Richard Charles Garratt  

  • BSc in Basic Medical Sciences and Biochemistry (Guy’s Hospital, King’s College, London, UK, 1983);
  • MSc in Crystallography (Birkbeck College, London, UK, 1984);
  • PhD in Crystallography (Birkbeck College, London, UK, 1989).

 

Has interest in the way in protein structure reflects biological function. Has worked on many different systems over the years, including transferrins, giant haemoglobins, enzymes of the glycolytic and purine salvage pathways, SODs and others. The structural biology of septins has been our major focus of attention over the last two decades. By applying X-ray crystallography allied to other biophysical methods we aim to unravel the complex ways in which filaments spontaneously self organize and assemble into higher-order structures.

Ana Paula Ulian de Araujo  

  • BSc in Biology (UFSCar, 1990);
  • MSc in Ecology (UFSCar,1993);
  • PhD in Science (UFSCar, 1997);
  • Post-doctoral researcher (University of Cambridge, UK, 2010).

 

My main research area is Molecular Biology and Biophysics of septins seeking to understand the structure-function relationships at all levels of their organization (monomers, oligomers, and filaments).

Technical staff

Humberto D’Muniz Pereira   

  • BSc in Biological Sciences (UFMG, 1996);
  • MSc in Physical Chemistry (IFSC-USP, 1999);
  • PhD in Applied Physics (IFSC-USP, 2003);
  • Business Post-Doctorate-PDI (2005);
  • Post-doctoral researcher (IFSC-USP, 2008).

Has experience in Biochemistry and Biophysics, with an emphasis on Protein Crystallography.

Andressa Patricia Alves Pinto   

  • BEd in Exact Sciences (IFSC-USP, 1998);
  • MSc in Genetics and Evolution (UFScar, 2002);
  • PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (UFSCar, 2017).

 

I have been a laboratory technician in the group since 2000, but my journey through the world of septins started in 2010 when Chlamydomonas septin was the subject of my doctoral thesis. Now I have been supporting cloning and purifying septin complexes for microscopy.

Derminda Isabel de Moraes

  • Technical degree (Centro Interescolar Paulino Botelho, 1976).

 

 

Has expertise in solid-phase peptide synthesis and protein chromatography.

Deborah Cezar Mendonça   

  • BSc in Physical and Biomolecular Sciences (IFSC-USP, 2015);
  • MSc in Applied Physics (IFSC-USP, 2018).
  • PhD in Applied Physics with a sandwich period at Universität Strasbourg, France (IFSC-USP, 2023).

 

Structural microscopist with large expertise in cryo-EM.

Post-docs

Diego A. Leonardo  

  • BSc in Biology (UNPRG, Peru, 2013);
  • MSc in Applied Physics (IFSC-USP, 2016);
  • PhD in Applied Physics (IFSC-USP, 2020).

 

Interested in revealing the molecular details that control the specificity of interaction between septins during the formation of the heterofilament (Kinoshita postulates). Furthermore, I am deeply interested in understanding the importance of a group of catalytically inactive septins for the correct assembly of the heterofilament.

PhD students

Giovanna Christe   

  • BSc in Biotechnology (UFSCar, 2021)

 

 

I am interested in characterizing the structural biology of non-human septins (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans), as well as studying the interactions between those proteins.

Luis Alberto Valverde Fernández  

  • BSc in Biology (Universidad Nacional Pedro Ruiz Gallo, Peru, 2019).

 

 

Has great interest in the field of Molecular Biology with application to the themes of human health and well-being. I am now studying the 3D structure of Magnaporthe oryzae septins to better understand their involvement in the rice infection mechanism.

Eloy Condori Mamani   

  • BSc in Biology (UNAS, Peru, 2017);
  • MSc in Applied Physics (IFSC-USP, 2022).

 

 

I am interested in studying the interaction of septins with a known off-target partner using biophysical and molecular biology techniques.

Zaighum Abbas  

  • MSc in Industrial Biotechnology (NUST, Pakistan, 2019).

 

 

Working on the structural characterization of Magnaporthe oryzae septins.

Adriano Alves Furtado  

  • BSc in Physics (Goiás Federal University, UFG, 2021);
  • MSc in Applied Physics (IFSC-USP, 2023).

 

 

Master students

Bryan Marquez Fernandez  

  • BSc in Biology (UNAS, Peru, 2021).

 

 

I am studying the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii septin.

Undergraduate students

Caio Augusto Rits

  • Undergoing BSc in Physical and Biomolecular Sciences (IFSC-USP, class of 2020).

 

 

Beatriz Lecce Manzo

  • Undergoing BSc in Biotechnology (UFSCar, class of 2023).

 

 

Ruan Lima

  • Undergoing BSc.

 

 

Luiza Deboni de Carvalho Martinez

  • Undergoing BSc in Physical and Biomolecular Sciences (IFSC-USP, class of 2022).

 

 

Maurício Albino Luciano

  • Undergoing BSc in Physical and Biomolecular Sciences (IFSC-USP, class of 2024).

 

 

Collaborators

Napoleão Valadares (UnB, Brasília)  

 

 

 

Rodrigo V. Portugal (CNPEM, Campinas)  

 

 

 

Bruno Klaholz (IGBMC, Strasbourg, France)

 

 

 

Alessandro N. Silva (USP, São Carlos)  

 

 

 

Prof. Dr. Jorg Kobarg (UNICAMP, Campinas)  

 

 

 

Fernando Bachega (UFCSPA, Porto Alegre)

 

 

 

Italo Cavini (USP, Ribeirão Preto)  

Former members

Ricardo De Marco (in memorian)  

 

 

 

Post-docs:

  • Wanius José Garcia da Silva (Professor at UFABC, Santo André-SP)
  • João Renato Carvalho Muniz (Professor at USP, São Carlos-SP)
  • Julio Cesar P. Damalio (Professor at IFSP, Avaré-SP)
  • Joci Neuby A. Macêdo (Professor at IFRO, Ji-Paraná-RO)
  • Luis Fernando Reyes (Thermo Fisher Scientific)
  • Juliana Sposto Avaca Crusca (Scientific Police Division, São José do Rio Preto-SP)
  • Edson Crusca Jr. (UNESP, São José do Rio Preto-SP)
  • Patricia Suemy Kumagai (Bionovis SA)
  • Ana Eliza Zeraik (Professor at UFF, Campo dos Goytacazes-RJ)
  • Samuel Leite Guimarães (CNPEM, Campinas-SP)
  • Italo Augusto Cavini (Professor at USP, Ribeirão Preto-SP)
  • Heloísa Ciol (Brazilian Biorenewable Laboratory, CNPEM, Campinas-SP)

PhD students:

  • Fernando Alessandro
  • Sabrina Matos de O. da Silva (University of Colorado, USA)
  • Ivo A. Marques (Professor at UFG, Goiás-GO)
  • Sinara Teixeira do Brasil Morais
  • Fernanda A. Sala (Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Germany)
  • Danielle K. Silva do Vale Castro (Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, France)
  • Adriano de Freitas Fernandes

Master students:

  • Caroline Hoff Risseti (Raízen SA)
  • Nathalia de Campos Rodrigues (QGene Ltda)
  • Nayara Cavalcante Silva
  • Paola Lanzoni Mangutchi (Newcastle Drug Discovery Unit, UK)
  • Yuri Volpato Santos (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany)
  • Vitor Hugo Balasco Serrão (University of Toronto, Canada)
  • ‪Carla Silva Martins (Institut Fresnel, France)
  • Gabriel Brognara (Institute of Science and Technology, Austria)
  • Marina Gabriel Fontes (USP, São Paulo-SP)
  • Higor Vinícius Dias Rosa (EMBL/Heidelberg University, Germany)
  • Rafael Marques da Silva (University of Leicester, UK)

Other collaborators:

  • José Luiz Lopes (USP, Ribeirão Preto-SP)
  • José Brandão-Neto (Diamond, UK)
  • Antonio José da Costa Filho (USP, Ribeirão Preto-SP)
  • Marcos Vicente de Albuquerque Salles Navarro (USP, São Carlos-SP)
  • Otavio Henrique Thiemann (USP, São Carlos-SP)
  • Isabel Usón (Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona, Spain)
  • Claudia Elisabeth Munte (Universitӓt Regensburg, Germany)
  • Rosangela Itri (USP, São Paulo-SP)
  • Glaucius Oliva (USP, São Carlos-SP)
  • Katia Cristina Pereira Oliveira Santos (Unifesp, São Paulo-SP)
  • Sandro Hillebrand (UNISC, Santa Cruz do Sul-RS)
  • Nilson Zanchin (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Curitiba-PR)
  • João Alexandre Barbosa (UnB, Brasília-DF)
  • Marcel Nakahira (UNICAMP, Campinas-SP)
  • Nicolau B. Palma Filho (USP, São Carlos-SP)
  • Everton Edesio Dinis Silva (PUCRS, Porto Alegre-RS)
  • Amanda Souza Câmara (Leibniz-Institut, Germany)
  • Luíza Zuvanov de Faria (USP, São Carlos-SP)
  • Thiago Seraphim (University of Toronto / University of Regina, Canada)
  • Tatiana de A. Campos Brasil de Souza (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Curitiba-PR)
  • Marcos Alborghetti (CNPEM, Campinas-SP)
  • Eliana Assmann