Universidade Federal do Ceará
NUBIMED – Núcleo de Biomedicina

The scientific partnership between the Universidade Federal do Ceará and the University of Virginia reached another historic milestone with the realization of a research collaboration visit held from May 19 to 21, 2026, in Charlottesville (CHO), Virginia, United States. The meeting was part of the commemorative activities celebrating 50 years of academic cooperation between the two institutions, internationally recognized for their research in infectious diseases, microbiology, nutrition, global health, and biomedicine.

Representing the Núcleo de Biomedicina (NUBIMED), the Brazilian delegation included Full Professor Aldo Ângelo Moreira Lima, Dr. José Quirino da Silva Filho, and UFC Medical Sciences Ph.D. candidate Francisco de Sousa Junior. Researchers Kleybson Sousa, Prof. Samilly Ribeiro, Prof. Edson Oliveira, and Prof. Dilza Trevisan also participated remotely. The agenda included strategic meetings, scientific workshops, and discussions on international projects, funding proposals, and scientific manuscripts under development.

On the first day of the program, May 19, the researchers participated in an institutional meeting with Dr. Cirle Warren and Dr. Deiziane Costa, discussing collaborative programs between UFC and UVA, challenges related to obtaining international funding, and future perspectives for the partnership. Throughout the day, the Brazilian team also conducted working sessions focused on omics data analysis, development of scientific proposals, and preparation of ongoing manuscripts, strengthening joint initiatives in translational research and global health.

On May 20, the agenda highlighted discussions on spatial biology and transcriptome analysis, led by Ana Karine together with the Brazilian team on-site and with the online participation of Prof. Samilly Ribeiro and Prof. Edson Oliveira. The group deepened discussions related to advanced datasets and analytical methodologies applied to molecular biology and precision medicine. Throughout the day, collaborative workshops were also conducted focusing on omics data analysis, development of international proposals, and preparation of multicenter scientific manuscripts.

Another important highlight of the program was the meeting conducted by researcher Eric Houpt with the Brazilian team, during which Francisco de Sousa Junior presented his research entitled “Machine learning-based predictive clinical model for Shigella spp. infection in children with diarrhea,” developed as part of his Ph.D. research in Medical Sciences at UFC. The study, focused on the development of predictive clinical models based on machine learning for the diagnosis of Shigella spp. infection in children with diarrhea, attracted considerable interest from the American researcher, who emphasized the scientific potential of the project and provided suggestions for improving the research and for future international applications of the study.

The agenda also included discussions with Nicholas E. Sherman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Microbiology and Core Director of the Biomolecular Analysis Facility Core (BAF) at the University of Virginia, together with Prof. Dr. Aldo Ângelo Moreira Lima, Prof. Dilza Trevisan (online), and Brazilian researchers, regarding submitted scientific proposals and future lines of investigation involving metabolomics, proteomics, and applied molecular biology. During the meetings, advanced technological resources and analytical platforms available at the center coordinated by Sherman were presented, including high-resolution mass spectrometry, comparative proteomic analyses, untargeted metabolomics, lipidomics, tissue imaging, and targeted metabolic pathway studies.

The researcher highlighted the potential of UVA’s infrastructure for applications in translational research and precision medicine, particularly in multicenter studies involving infectious diseases and molecular biomarkers. The discussions also reinforced possibilities for future collaboration between the Núcleo de Biomedicina (NUBIMED/UFC) and UVA laboratories in projects integrating data science, omics technologies, and machine learning, consolidating the interdisciplinary and international character of the scientific partnership between the Universidade Federal do Ceará and the University of Virginia.

The visit reinforces the international relevance of the cooperation between UFC and UVA, consolidated over five decades of scientific exchange and researcher training. For the Brazilian participants, the meeting represented not only the strengthening of international research networks, but also new opportunities for the development of multicenter projects, advanced academic training, and high-impact scientific production in the fields of biomedicine and global health.

Text and photos: Nubimed.