Lúcia Mendonça Previato facts for kids
Lúcia Mendonça Previato, born in 1949, is a famous Brazilian scientist. She is known for her important research on how to prevent Chagas disease, a serious illness. In 2004, she won the prestigious L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science for her amazing work.
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About Lúcia Mendonça Previato
Lúcia Mendonça Previato was born in 1949 in Maceió, Brazil. When she was five years old, her family moved to Rio de Janeiro. She studied at Universidade Santa Úrsula and earned her first degree in 1971. Later, in 1976, she received her doctorate in Microbiology and Immunology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Her Scientific Journey
After her studies in Brazil, she traveled to Canada. There, she did special research on Carbohydrate Chemistry at the National Research Council. She then moved to the University of California, Berkeley in the United States. She worked with a famous biochemist named Clinton E. Ballou.
In 1980, Lúcia Previato returned to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She started a special lab called the Surface Structure of Microorganisms Laboratory. She led this lab until 2001. In 1992, she became a Full Professor at the university. After that, she became the Director of the Laboratory of Glycobiology. This lab is part of the Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Her Big Discovery
Lúcia Previato and her team made a very important discovery. They found out how Trypanosoma cruzi works. This is a tiny living thing, called a protozoan, that causes Chagas disease. They learned how it can hide from the body's immune system when it infects a person. This discovery helps scientists understand how to fight the disease better.
For this amazing work, she received the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards in 2004. She also won the TWAS Prize in Biology in 2007. In 2001, she was honored with the National Order of Scientific Merit (Comendador) in Brazil.
Personal Life
Lúcia Mendonça Previato is married to Jose Osvaldo Previato. They have two children.
Awards and Honors
- National Research Council of Brazil, Top Research Career Investigator, 1986
- Petrobras Award, National Invention Prize, 1987
- Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, 1992
- International Research Scholar, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1997
- Scientist of Rio de Janeiro State Award in Biological Sciences, 1999
- Editor-in-Chief of Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Science, 2003
Images for kids
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Lúcia Mendonça Previato received the National Order of Scientific Merit.
See also
In Spanish: Lúcia Mendonça Previato para niños
