Bachelor’s in biology and Ph.D. in biophysics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She conducted postdoctoral research in molecular pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), supported by a Pew Latin American Fellowship. Currently an Associate Professor at UFRJ, her research interests include molecular pharmacology, neuropharmacology, cannabinoid receptors, vanilloid receptors, and pain mechanisms.