Rafael Junqueira Borges

Researcher at the Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG) at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP). He holds a degree in Biomedicine, a master's, and a doctorate in Genetics from the Institute of Biosciences of Botucatu (IBB) at São Paulo State University "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP). During his Ph.D., he conducted a co-tutorship with the Graduate Program in Biotechnology at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Barcelona.He has experience in structural biology, bioinformatics, and computational method development, with an emphasis on protein purification, crystallography, mass spectrometry, binding site characterization, docking, and molecular dynamics. Additionally, he is proficient in scientific programming in Python.From 2007 to 2022, with funding from FAPESP, he focused on developing methods to elucidate crystallographic structures and protein mechanisms of action. By integrating crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and phylogenetic analyses, he developed the SEQUENCE SLIDER program, designed to assist in the phasing of proteins with novel folding and to elucidate the heterogeneity in purified samples from natural sources, such as snake venoms. Furthermore, he characterized inhibition mechanisms of natural and synthetic molecules with potential medicinal applications against snakebite envenomation, the most lethal Neglected Tropical Disease.He has three and a half years of international experience in laboratories specializing in crystallographic method development in Barcelona (Spain), Cambridge (England), and Göttingen (Germany). In the second semester of 2022, he worked as a adjunct professor at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), teaching Bioinformatics and Biochemistry. Since 2023, he has been part of the Center for Medicinal Chemistry (CQMED) at CBMEG, where he develops algorithms to integrate biophysical, biochemical, and cellular experimental data from fragment libraries targeting proteins. His goal is to accelerate the discovery of drugs and active compounds, particularly hits, through computational methods.Throughout his academic career, he has published 31 scientific articles, including seven as the first author in high-impact journals such as Nucleic Acids Research (Impact Factor: 19.2) and Nature Communications (IF: 17.7). His scientific leadership is reflected in his role as a corresponding author in five publications. His innovative methodologies have enabled collaborations in international projects with institutions in Brazil (Butantan, FIOCRUZ, UNICAMP, USP), Belgium (KULeuven), Costa Rica (Instituto Clodomiro Picado), Spain (University of Zaragoza), the United States (UCLA, Virginia Commonwealth University), and England (University of Cambridge).His research interests include the application of theoretical and experimental approaches in structural biology to understand protein function and inhibition strategies. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)