Orestes Forlenza

General Project Coordinator - IPQ - USP

He holds a Master's and a Ph.D. from the Psychiatry Program at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo. He has a specialization in Geriatric Psychiatry from the University of London. He is a Full Professor and Tenured Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at FMUSP, carrying out clinical, teaching, and research activities with a focus on Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurosciences. He is currently the Vice Head of the Department of Psychiatry at FMUSP. He is also a member of the Coordinating Committee and a supervisor in the Graduate Program in Psychiatry at FMUSP.

Augusto Afonso Terra Júnior

UFMG

Ph.D. in Public Health – Epidemiology from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, is an Associate Professor and researcher in pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacogenomics, pharmacoeconomics, and data engineering at the same university. He coordinates the Collaborating Center for the Unified Health System (SUS) for Health Technology Assessment and Excellence (CCATES/UFMG) and produces research and reports, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, to support decision-making by Conitec/SUS regarding health technologies and clinical protocols.

Claudia Moreira - Alana

Instituto Alana

Graduated in Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Claudia holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Molecular Biology) from UNIFESP in partnership with the University of Michigan. She has worked on projects at UFRJ in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), focusing on improving laboratory infrastructure in Mozambique and studying HIV prevalence in Angola. Currently, Claudia serves as a Project Coordinator at the Alana Foundation and Instituto Alana, where she oversees initiatives related to Down syndrome, including funding clinical research and relevant actions.

Érika Cristina Pavarino

FAMERP

Ph.D. from UNESP – São José do Rio Preto and Associate Professor by FAMERP, she is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at the Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto and teaches Genetics, Medical Genetics, and Molecular Biology in the undergraduate programs in Nursing, Medicine, and Psychology. She is also an Associate Professor in Human and Medical Genetics. Her research focuses on Biomarkers and Genetic Clinical Investigation in Human Diseases (with emphasis on Down syndrome) and Genetics and Cancer.

Gabriela Arantes Wagner

UNIFESP

Mother of Laura Wagner Kummrow, who has Down syndrome, Gabriela is the Associate Vice Provost of the Extension and Culture Department and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine. She is also a Supervisor in the Postgraduate Program in Collective Health at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo. Gabriela holds a Postdoctoral degree from the Department of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), and is a Researcher at the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Brazilian Federation of Down Syndrome Associations and the Jô Clemente Institute.

Gustavo Schiavo Matias

Instituto Jô Clemente

Graduated in Biology, Master and PhD in Sciences from the University of São Paulo (USP). He works as Coordinator of the Center for Teaching, Research and Innovation (CEPI) at the Jô Clemente Institute. His work is focused on leading and executing strategic initiatives in the areas of Rare Diseases, Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with a focus on optimizing projects and promoting advances in the scientific, technological and social fields.

Luciene Covolan

UNIFESP

Luciene Covolan is a Full Professor in the Department of Physiology at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo, with three postdoctoral degrees. She serves as a reviewer for various international journals and is an Editor for Frontiers in Neuroscience and Arquivos de Neuropsiquiatria. Her research focuses on Neurophysiology, with a primary focus on epilepsy, cellular injury, neurogenesis, animal behavior, deep brain stimulation, and intellectual disability. She participates in several international research groups and is a Researcher at CNPq.

Rosane Lowenthal

FCMSCSP

Rosane Lowenthal is the Vice-Director of the Medicine course at the Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mental Health at the same university. She holds a Postdoctoral degree in Psychiatry and Medical Psychology from UNIFESP, and a Ph.D. in Disorders of Learning from the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. She is currently a collaborator of the Down Syndrome Interesting Medical Group. She served as the president of the Brazilian Federation of Down Syndrome (2006-2008) and actively participated in the development of the National Policy for Special Education with a Perspective on Inclusive Education.

Susan Pereira Ribeiro

Emory University

Susan Pereira Ribeiro is a biologist with a Ph.D. and postdoctoral training in Immunology from the School of Medicine at the Universidade de São Paulo. Currently, she is a Professor at Emory University in the United States. With over 15 years of experience in basic immunology research and translational research, she leads studies in the field of infectious diseases (including HIV and COVID-19) and research related to immune alterations in patients with Down syndrome. She applies multi-omics techniques (single-cell analysis, epigenetics, flow cytometry, metabolomics, microbiomics, etc.) and systems biology to integrate data to address fundamental questions about the mechanisms underlying various pathologies.