Dr Soraia Costa Ph.D

As Associate Professor of Pharmacology at USP (Brazil), she plays an active role in several committees, and leads the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Inflammation Research, which focusing on investigating neurovascular immune reactions induced by vasoactive mediators, pollutants and toxins in order to identify novel active compounds with analgesic/anti-inflammatory properties using translational research models, that can be translated into the clinical setting. Early in her career she studied the vascular biology of the Brazilian spider venom Phoneutria nigriventer (PNV) at UNICAMP (Prof E Antunes) and USP (Prof G de Nucci). Working with Prof. Susan Brain´s laboratory (King´s College, London), as a Research Fellow, she developed an interest on neurogenic inflammation and sensory function, and showed that PNV stimulates C fibres in the skin, an underlying mechanism of the pain and inflammation associated with the spider bites. She built up strong international collaborative partnerships with both academia and industry, and her work as Financial Director for BSPET enables her to further support the development of Brazilian Pharmacologists.