Gustavo Scola

I am an emerging young scientist in the application of molecular biology in psychiatric, neurological disorders, heart failure, and cancer. My career has been shaped by several early accomplishments that have formed my current academic development and achievements. As a physiology student who graduated in 2005, I was awarded a Master's Degree in 2008 for my work on natural antioxidant compounds for the treatment of neurological diseases. As a result of my achievements at the time, holding a competitive scholarship and several successful publications, I was accepted to a Ph.D. program at the Institute of Biotechnology. During my period as a Ph.D. student, I was awarded a competitive graduate research fellowship from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Brazil) to develop part of my thesis at the University of Toronto in 2011. Because of my research competence and achievements at that time, I was awarded a four-year postdoctoral research fellowship, researching markers of mitochondrial dysfunction in psychiatric disorders. In recognition of my research excellence and leading contribution to the field of psychiatry, I have received several awards and distinctions. In 2014, I was nominated by the Department of Psychiatry for my outstanding research accomplishments as a fellow in mitochondrial dysfunction in psychiatric illnesses. On an international level, I was a recipient of the 2016 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Senior Researcher Award, which recognizes explicitly senior researchers who have made a significant contribution to scientific progress in adolescent psychiatry. To date, my research has provided several valuable insights into the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. As a logical extension of my current-funded work, I am investigating the role of posttranslational and posttranscriptional factors in modulating mitochondrial function in mental illnesses, heart failure, and cancer. By identifying a set of brain/tissue-blood based markers that are characteristic of psychiatric disorders or blood-based markers of heart failure, I endeavor to translate this knowledge into something that might be tangible for therapy and biomarker development.

Gustavo Scola