PROFILE

Highly accomplished, insightful, and well-organized research professional with 1

3 years of expertise in plant biotechnology, cell biology, and cell cycle by ext
ensive exposure to state-of-the-art laboratories throughout Brazil, Europe, and
the United States of America. Interested in pursuing advancement within fast-gro
wing organization to continue the promotion of skills, knowledge, and leadership
acquired in molecular biology, crop research, and data analysis experience. Con
tributed notably to the analysis and characterization of a complete gene family
in Arabidopsis. Extensive research experience legalized by publications in high-
impact factor journals.
- Demonstrate exceptional planning and goal-setting skills; combined with
expertise in prioritizing projects efficiently; as well as organizational and ti
me management abilities
- Professional highly respected by colleagues/superiors, possess strong de
cision-making skills, with strategically and tactfully problem-resolving capacit
ies. Readily able to contribute to achieving positive outcomes to reach a common
goal
- Skilled at conducting regular presentations in laboratory meetings and d
iscussion of results with diverse group of scientists and technicians, able to e
xplain complex concepts and ideas to non-technical individuals.
- Technically proficient in MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Adobe Photos
hop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat, Corel Paint Shop Pro, Vector NTI, ImageJ,
ClustalW, and commonly used internet browses
- Multilingual in Portuguese, English, French, and Spanish
AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Gateway cloning
Microscopy (in vivo imaging using fluorescence and confocal, light microscopy, t
ransmission electron microscopy, bimolecular fluorescence complementation [BiFC]
, slide preparation, sample sectioning)
Bacteria, yeast cultures, and transformation
Yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) and two-hybrid (Y2H) screenings
Flow cytometry
Arabidopsis plant transformation (floral dip), tobacco leaf agroinfiltration, bi
olistics
Arabidopsis mutant analysis, development of silencing lines, genotyping, crosses
Standard molecular techniques (PCR, quantitative PCR (qPCR), RNA extraction, cD
NA synthesis, DNA isolation)
PROFESSIONAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA - Tucson, AZ
Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Plant Sciences, Schumaker Laboratory
July 2010-Present
- Demonstrating knowledge on plant adaptation to salinity by characterizin
g the evolution and function of the SOS1 gene in Arabidopsis and Thellungiella a
nd by exploiting natural variation in Arabidopsis to identify alleles underlying
salt tolerance
- Preparing and conducting training on several techniques to colleagues, s
uch as yeast work, Gateway cloning technology, and subcellular localization thro
ugh transient expression in tobacco leaves
- Establishing and maintaining collaborative efforts with numerous researc
hers in Belgium, the United States of America, Switzerland, Brazil, and Germany
VIB AND GHENT UNIVERSITY - Ghent, Belgium
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Departments of Plant Systems Biology and Plant
Biotechnology and Genetics April 2008-June 2010
- Conceptualized and developed the characterization of novel plant cell-cy
cle inhibitors induced by stress and upheld the functional study of the vesicula
r trafficking AtPRA1 gene family
- Collaborated in the study evaluating the importance of A-type cyclin-dep
endent kinase CDKA;1 dephosphorylation in plants; conducted a wide range of expe
rimentations, such as Y1H, Y2H, BiFC, overexpression analysis, knockout analysi
s, silencing lines, spatial control of gene expression, plant crosses, and pheno
typic analysis of plants grown in different genotoxic stresses, subcellular loca
lization in stable Arabidopsis plants, and flow cytometry
- Coached and counseled PhD and Master students in performing various labo
ratory experiments; as well as mentored a technician in executing Gateway clonin
g and other laboratory techniques

MAX-PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR PLANT BREEDING RESEARCH - Cologne, Germany

Visiting Researcher December 2008
- Comprehensively screened the T-DNA library developed by Dr. Csaba Koncz’s gr
oup to identify and characterize mutants for 10 genes not found in available mut
ant collections
EDUCATION
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY: 2008
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Institute of Medical Biochemistry - Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
Thesis: “PRA1 Family Characterization in Arabidopsis thaliana and Study on its Possi
ble Interaction with DEL1â€
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN GENETICS: 2002
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Institute of Biology - Rio de Janeiro, Bra
zil
Thesis: “Expression Analysis of Antioxidant System Genes in Rice Plants (Oryza sativ
a L.) Submitted to Salt Stressâ€
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BIOLOGY WITH EMPHASIS ON GENETICS: 2000
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Institute of Biology - Rio de Janeiro, Bra
zil
Thesis: “Comparative Study of Anthers Development of Arabidopsis thaliana Ecotype L.
Heynh. var. Landsberg erecta of Wild-type and Mutant ms1 (male-sterile 1) by Mi
croscopy and HPLCâ€
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Winner of the 3rd prize nomination in the Plant Biotechnology poster section of
the 5th Doctorate Symposium for the poster “The PRA1 gene family in Arabidopsis: Nov
el players in vesicle trafficking†in 2009
Awarded with Belgian and Brazilian scholarships from FWO-Dehousse (from 2007-201
0), CNPq (from 2004-2006), CAPES (from 2000-2002), FAPERJ (from 1998-2000), and
PIBIC (in 1997)
Recipient of a travel grant allocated by Riceuconf: Dissemination Conference of
Current European Research on rice held in Turin, Italy for the poster presentati
on “Antioxidant genes behavior in rice plants (Oryza sativa L.) submitted to salt st
ress†in 2002
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
- Assisted in the practical course by Prof. Dr. Lieven De Veylder (1st and
2nd Bachelor in Molecular Cell Biology, Ghent University): 2007-2008
- Provided co-advisor guidance to Mariska Januar, 1st year Master student
in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from Ghent University for the project “Characteriz
ation of novel cell cycle inhibitors induced by stress in Arabidopsis thaliana†: 2
008
- Taught the theoretical course “Genetics and Molecular Biology†at the Faculty of
Pharmacy from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, under the supervision of Pr
of. Dr. Paulo Ferreira: 2007
- Acted as the co-advisor of the undergraduate student from Federal Univer
sity of Rio de Janeiro, Madellon Melo de Assis, under the supervision of Prof. D
r. Paulo Ferreira: 2005
PUBLICATIONS
1. Alvim-Kamei CL, Van Den Daele H, Cools T, Borghi L, Yi D, Berckmans B, D
e Veylder L. Siamese-related proteins: Novel plant-specific cell cycle inhibitor
s induced by stress. Manuscript in preparation.
2. Dissmeyer N, Weimer AK, Pusch S, De Schutter K, Alvim-Kamei CL, Nowack M
K, Novak B, De Veylder L, Schnittger A (2009). Control of cell proliferation, or
gan growth and DNA damage response operate independently of dephosphorylation of
the Arabidopsis Cdk1 homolog CDKA;1. Plant Cell, 21: 3641-3654.
3. Alvim-Kamei CL, Boruc J, Vandepoele K, Van Den Daele H, Maes S, Russinov
a E, Inzé D, De Veylder L (2008). The PRA1 gene family in Arabidopsis, Plant Physio
logy, 147:1735-1749.
4. Menezes-Benavente L, Teixeira FK, Alvim-Kamei CL, Margis-Pinheiro M (200
4). Salt stress induces altered antioxidant gene expression in seedlings of a Br
azilian indica rice (Oryza sativa L.). Plant Science, 166: 323-331.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Departments of Plant Systems Biology at VIB and of Plant Biotechnology and Genet
ics at Ghent University - Gent, Belgium
School of Plant Sciences at the University of Arizona - Tucson, AZ