Francisco Wanderley Garcia de Paula e Silva

Associate Professor at the School of Dentistry of Ribeirão Preto (FORP) at the University of São Paulo (USP), with a specialization and master's degree in Pediatric Dentistry and a Ph.D. in Sciences from the same institution. Conducted a sandwich Ph.D. internship at the Mesenchymal Biology and Signaling Laboratory at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, USA) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Immunology at the Inflammation and Immunology of Parasitic Diseases Laboratory at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto-USP. Holds the title of Livre-Docente from FORP-USP. Leads the research group "Developmental Biology and Child Health," which is dedicated to investigating the impact of adversities during gestation and in the early years of life on child health and development, recognizing the importance of oral health as a fundamental component of overall well-being and healthy development in childhood. The group received support from FAPESP for the establishment and equipping of the Molecular Biology and Cell Culture Laboratory in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, through a Young Researcher Research Grant (2011-2015), and has been continuously funded by FAPESP and CNPq through regular research grants. Research supervision activities cover pre-scientific initiation stages, scientific initiation, and graduate levels, including master's, doctoral, and direct doctoral programs, with scholarships from FAPESP, CAPES, CNPq (PIBIC, PIBIC-EM, and WASH), as well as the Dean's Office for Undergraduate Studies (PUB - Unified Scholarship Program). The group values diversity and acts as a facilitator in affirmative actions, securing resources and providing scholarships to pre-scientific initiation students from public schools and undergraduate students participating in the Student Retention Support Program at USP. Coordinates the health education project "Oral Health Literacy," which aims to promote awareness about the importance of oral health, prevent misinformation in health, and connect children and adolescents to scientific knowledge. Through short free courses and the creation of digital content for platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Spotify, the project disseminates knowledge in an accessible and free manner. More information can be found on the Oral Health Education Platform (https://sites.google.com/forp.usp.br/paula-silva-lab). Serves as an ad-hoc consultant for CAPES, CNPq, and FAPESP, in addition to being a reviewer and/or associate editor for various internationally renowned scientific journals. At FORP/USP, coordinates Biotério I, the Clinical Research Center, the Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals, and the Equipment Users Committee linked to the Multidisciplinary Digital Dentistry Center (CEMOD). Participates as a faculty representative in various institutional committees and in the Management Committee of the Multidisciplinary Microscopy Laboratory of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. H-index: 24 (Web of Science / Publons), 26 (Scopus) (Source: Lattes Curriculum)