Donate nowWe are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 PROBio-LatAm Fellowships Programme, an initiative supporting mobility, training and scientific exchange for researchers in the molecular life sciences across Latin America and Europe.
This year’s fellowships have been awarded to researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico, who will undertake research visits in laboratories across FEBS countries as part of the programme.
Yemina Rocío Abelendo is from Entre Ríos, Argentina. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the Faculty of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences (FBCB) at the National University of the Litoral (Universidad Nacional del Litoral, UNL), where she currently serves as a teaching assistant. She is presently in the fourth year of her PhD studies at the Institute of Agrobiotechnology of the Litoral (Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral, IAL; CONICET–UNL) in Santa Fe, Argentina. Her doctoral research aims to comprehend the Integrated Stress Response (ISR) in a model of tumorigenesis based on aneuploid cells generated in the wing primordium of Drosophila melanogaster. During her upcoming research stay at Dr. Marco Milán’s laboratory at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Barcelona, Spain, she intends to utilize advanced FRET biosensors to study metabolic and stress signaling pathways in epithelial tumor models.
Evelyn Becerra Agudelo is a Colombian Biotechnologist, Environmental Engineer, and CONICET PhD Fellow performing doctoral research in Biological Sciences in Argentina at the Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral (IAL – UNL), under the supervision of Dr. Elina Welchen. Additionally, the applicant serves as a Teaching Assistant in Cellular and Molecular Biology. The doctoral research focuses on plant molecular biology, specifically exploring the role of OXR proteins in plant growth, cellular defense, and stress tolerance. Recently, the applicant was awarded the IUBMB-FEBS-PABMB PROBio-LatAm Fellowship for a three-month research stay in Dr. Pilar Cubas’ laboratory at the National Centre of Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC) in Madrid, Spain.
Micaela Coletta is a PhD candidate in Biological Sciences at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina) and a doctoral fellow of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). Her research focuses on translational regulation, particularly the role of Me31B and eIF4E in controlling gene expression under cold-adaptation conditions. She investigates the molecular biology of the plecopteran Andiperla morenensis, an endemic insect adapted to extreme cold environments in Patagonia, and the first insect reported to complete its entire life cycle on a glacier. Micaela has presented her research at national and international scientific meetings and has received several competitive fellowships, including support from IUBMB, EMBO, UNU-BIOLAC, and FEBS. In addition to her research activities, she serves as a teaching assistant at the School of Medical Sciences of the Universidad Nacional de La Plata and actively participates in academic event organization.
Eduardo Hernández Fleites graduated with honors as an Engineer in Bioinformatics in 2023 at the University of Informatic Sciences in La Havana. His graduation thesis was focused on the exploration of molecular mechanisms for inhibiting the buterycholinesterase enzyme and its implications in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student at the Group of Protein Engineering at the Center of Molecular Immunology. His research focuses on the study of scRNA-sq data of engineered variants of IL-2. He has participated in courses in Basic Immunology and scRNA-seq analysis, and has given courses in Structural Biology and Systems Biology at the University of Informatic Sciences, while also giving a post-grade course in Basic Bioinformatics.
Raphaela Machado Campos Lopes holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, and is currently a FAPESP-funded PhD student in the Department of Biochemistry at the Institute of Chemistry, USP. In the Laboratory of Protein Structure and Function, led by Professor Shaker Chuck Farah, she studies R-bodies from Caedibacter taeniospiralis and a homologous protein from Xanthomonas citri. Her research aims to characterize the architecture and conformational changes of these protein assemblies using cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) and cryo-electron tomography (Cryo-ET). She also employs two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry to investigate R-body composition and complement structural information with insights into post-translational modifications, crosslinking patterns, stoichiometry, and protein interactions. A research stay in the laboratory of Professor José María Carazo at the National Center for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC), Spain, will provide an opportunity to further develop her expertise and contribute to her scientific training.
Demián Esteban Monti is a biochemist who earned his PhD from the University of Buenos Aires while conducting research at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), Argentina. His doctoral work focused on the structural and functional characterization of the Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV) viroplasm protein P9-1, combining molecular biology, structural biology, and nanobody technologies to investigate viral replication mechanisms. He developed nanobody-based tools for viral detection and functional studies and contributed to structural studies of viral proteins using SAXS, X-ray crystallography, and cryo-electron microscopy. During a Fulbright-funded research stay at Baylor College of Medicine, he worked on the RNA remodelling activity of P9-1. His current research interests include protein–RNA interactions, biomolecular condensates, viral replication factories, and the application of structural biology approaches to understand virus-host interactions and develop viral strategies.
Sofía Orioli is a Ph.D. candidate in Biological Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, specializing in glycobiology, yeast biotechnology, and congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs). She conducts her research in the Cell Glycobiology and Applied Yeast Genetics Laboratory at the Institute of Biosciences, Biotechnology and Translational Biology (iB3), Department of Physiology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, University of Buenos Aires.
Her work uses yeast as a model system to investigate rare genetic diseases and as a platform for recombinant protein production, integrating molecular and cellular biology, glycan analysis, and protein engineering approaches.
She holds degrees in Biotechnology and Industrial Food Technology and has co-authored peer-reviewed publications in international scientific journals. She has presented her research at national and international conferences and has gained experience in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, she has participated in scientific training, teaching, and collaborative initiatives that promote research capacity and biotechnology development.
Karen Resendiz-Acevedo, PhD, is a Mexican researcher and lecturer at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She earned her PhD in Chemical Sciences from UNAM, where her research focused on cancer metabolomics, bioinorganic chemistry, and the biological activity of metal-based compounds. Her work has involved the application of NMR spectroscopy, ICP-MS, and multivariate data analysis to investigate cellular responses to anticancer agents.
In addition to her research activities, she teaches chemistry at the upper secondary education level and actively participates in science outreach and student mentoring programs. Her scientific interests include cancer biology, metabolomics, structural biochemistry, and the development of novel therapeutic strategies. She has presented her work at national and international scientific meetings and has contributed to peer-reviewed publications in the fields of chemistry and biomedical sciences.
Julio Emiliano Romani is a PhD candidate in Science and Technology at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo and a doctoral fellow at IHEM-CONICET-UNCUyo, Argentina. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. His doctoral research investigates proteostasis and autophagy in mammalian oocytes, aiming to identify therapeutic targets to improve assisted reproductive technologies. Awarded the IUBMB-FEBS-PABMB PROBio-LatAm Fellowship, he will conduct a six-month research stay at the CECAD, University of Cologne, in Dr. Gabriele Zaffagnini’s laboratory. His project will focus on investigating how EndoLysosomal Vesicular Assemblies (ELVAs)—novel cellular super-organelles responsible for accumulating and degrading material—fail during postovulatory aging, leading to proteostasis collapse. This international collaboration will enhance his doctoral thesis, strengthen his expertise in advanced microscopy, and foster scientific networks between Latin America and Europe.
International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology