Rafael Mendonça Duarte

He holds a degree in Biology from Mackenzie Presbyterian University (UPM) and a PhD in Freshwater Biology and Inland Fisheries from the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), where he also completed his master's degree in the same field. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the São Paulo State University (UNESP), at the Institute of Biosciences of the São Paulo Coastal Campus, coordinating the Laboratory of Ecophysiology and Aquatic Toxicology (LECTA-UNESP).His academic and scientific work focuses on the ecophysiology and ecotoxicology of aquatic organisms, with an emphasis on Neotropical fish. He conducts research on the effects of environmental stressors, such as hypoxia, temperature, and pH variations, on the physiological and biochemical responses of aquatic organisms, particularly on osmo-ionoregulatory and metabolic mechanisms. He also studies the lethal and sublethal effects of exposure to environmental contaminants, such as metals, pesticides, nanoparticles, and petroleum hydrocarbons, assessing the responses of biomarkers of exposure and effect. His main research interests include osmoregulation processes, contaminant bioaccumulation, the use of physiological and biochemical biomarkers, and modeling metal toxicity in natural waters, particularly through the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) adapted to Amazonian environments. He has extensive experience experimenting with fish from the Amazon and the coastal region of the Atlantic Forest, addressing topics ranging from hematological and metabolic responses to studies on thermal and hypoxic tolerance under climate change scenarios. He participates in several research projects and has collaborated with national and international groups, in addition to advising undergraduate and graduate students. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)