Unlocking the Secrets of Biodiversity: Genomics for Species Conservation

Since the end of the 19th century, genetics evolved from the virtual idea of a DNA unit to concrete knowledge about its components, structure, functions. Going even further, Genomics looks at all the genes of an organism, their sequence, how they influence each other and how they interact with the environment. This opens up a whole range of applications.

At the same time, every day we hear about the loss of biodiversity in the world. So many species are disappearing before we even get to know them. This is especially true in the tropics, where most of the species are, and the many impacts of these losses are invaluable.

But what happens when Genomics meets Biodiversity Conservation? This is what we aim to discuss at the event. Learn about case studies with jaguar and sloths, find out how the soil microbiome can be restored, dive into Amazon’s canopies and their unknown insects, discover what Museomics has to do with it, and hear about a successful initiative for anteaters conservation and the push Genomics is expected to give.

Camila Mazzoni - Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW)

Dr. Camila Mazzoni holds a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since 2010, she carries a position as senior researcher and group leader in Evolutionary and Conservation Genomics at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), and as co-leader of the Berlin Center for Genomics in Biodiversity Research (BeGenDiv). Camila/Dr. Mazzoni was the founding chair of the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) and is currently the deputy director of the Biodiversity Genomics Europe (BGE) project, where she leads the development of reference genomes of European species. Outside of Europe, she co-leads the Genotropics Consortium, a Brazilian-German genomics initiative focusing on Neotropical species.

Eduardo Eizirik - Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS)

Dr. Eduardo Eizirik obtained his PhD degree from the University of Maryland at College Park, USA (2002), and worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, NCI, NIH, USA (2003). From 2004 to 2018 he was an Associate Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Brazil. Since 2018 he is a Full Professor at the same university and serves as Chair of its Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity. He is a member of the Institute for Neotropical Carnivore Conservation, Brazil, as well as a member of the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group and Small Carnivore Specialist Group. He has created and led the Jaguar Genome Project since 2011, and is one of the founding members of the GenoTropics consortium, a Brazilian-German biodiversity genomics initiative focusing on Neotropical species. His main fields of research are Evolutionary and Conservation Genomics, Phylogenetics and Molecular Ecology, with most of his research focusing on wild carnivores.

Ricardo Pereira - State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart

Dr. Pereira is an evolutionary biologist at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart. He leads research on how species form and survive in the face of environmental changes, collaborating extensively with institutions in Germany and Brazil. His team uses advanced genomics to study the diversity of life at the genetic and species levels, providing valuable insights for conservation.
A key focus of Dr. Pereira's work is "Museomics," which leverages historical collections to guide future conservation efforts. By analyzing time series data from monitoring and natural history collections, his research helps us understand the evolutionary processes that drive changes in biodiversity. This knowledge is crucial for predicting how species will adapt and survive future environmental changes, improving our conservation strategies.

Flávia Miranda - State University of Santa Cruz (UESC) and Tamanduá Institute for Research and Conservation

Dr. Flávia Miranda holds a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Minas Gerais, a master’s degree in Ecology from the University of São Paulo (USP), and a bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine. She was the first veterinarian to study anteaters in the wild, the first to develop health treatments for them in Brazil, and the pioneer of an anteater conservation project, becoming a global reference for the species. Today, Dr. Miranda is a professor at the State University of Santa Cruz and coordinates the Tamandua Institute for Conservation and Research, a NGO specialized in Xenarthrans (the group that includes anteaters, armadillos, and sloths). She is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and has authored books, hundreds of scientific papers, technical reports, popular articles, and policy briefings on conservation. In 2023, she was recognized as one of the 51 global leaders in animal conservation nominated for the Indianapolis Prize.

Bernardo Santos - Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

Dr. Bernardo F. Santos is a researcher focused on the biodiversity and evolution of insects. After doing his initial training and research in Brazil, he has worked on some of the top natural history museums in the world – New York, Washington, Paris – before landing at the Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, where he combines genomics, DNA barcoding, morphology and statistical techniques to understand global patterns of insect biodiversity, with a focus on parasitoid wasps, a hyperdiverse but underappreciated animal lineage.

Rafael Valadares - Vale Institute of Technology

Dr. Rafael Valadares is an agronomist (Universidade Ferderal de Viçosa) and soil microbiologist with expertise in studying the complex interactions between soil organisms and their environments. He holds a PhD from Universidade de São Paulo, where his research focused on the molecular interactions between orchids and their mycorrhizal fungi. Since 2014, Dr. Valadares has been a researcher at Instituto Tecnológico Vale, utilizing proteomic tools to study individual organisms such as microbes, plants, and animals, as well as environmental samples. Recently, Dr. Valadares has advanced his research on soil health and microbial processes, combining metagenomics and metaproteomics to bridge the gap between fundamental microbiology and practical applications. His work offers innovative solutions for improving soil management and productivity in the face of changing environmental conditions.