Giulio Mendes Braatz

Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics at the University of São Paulo (USP), conducting research at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM). My research focuses on discovering and validating biosynthetic gene clusters within genomic dark matter from animals in Brazilian biodiversity. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA). My previous experience includes undergraduate research fellowships on projects "Assessment of genetic and functional diversity of filamentous fungi in atrazine-contaminated soils" (UNILA/CNPq, 2019) and "Development of a microbial platform for the production of antimicrobial peptides with leishmanicidal activity" (UNILA/CNPq, 2021). Co-founder and former general coordinator of the SynFronteras Synthetic Biology Club and the iGEM UNILA_LatAm team (2019-2022), with the 2021 project BioPank - A paratransgenic platform for control of Leishmania transmission. I served as an iGEM Ambassador for Latin America (2022-2023). Advisor of the winning team of the iGEM Design League 2023 and leader of the CNPEM-Brazil team, awarded a gold medal at the iGEM 2024 competition for the project B.A.R.B.I.E. (Bioengineered Approach for Removal of Microplastics through Bioremediation and Innovative Electromagnetics). (Source: Lattes Curriculum)