Professor Maria Venzon Antunes

Maria Antunes is a biomedical scientist, with a specialization in clinical and toxicological analyses from Feevale, as well as a Masters and a PhD in Medical Sciences from UFRGS. She works as professor and researcher at the Masters in Toxicology and Toxicological Analyses program at Feevale University, where she is currently a coordinator. Her main research themes are therapeutic drug monitoring, pharmacogenetics, and alternative sampling strategies and bioanalytical methods applied to toxicological analyses. She is a fellowship holder in Research Productivity at the CNPq – Level 2, a member of the International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicoly (IATDMCT), The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT) and the advisory committee on health of Fapergs 2022-2024.  

She took an interest in research when she was still taking her degree, when Marina had the opportunity of volunteering in undergraduate research and participating in courses and conferences on biomedicine and toxicological analyses. She began her professional career as a technical manager at Feevale University’s Toxicological Analyses laboratory, and says that “being in the academic environment was crucial to encourage and promote her work in teaching and research.” 

In spite of the countless difficulties and obstacles, Marina understands that “historically women have a significant role in STEM fields, with expressive scientific contributions. Versatility, resilience, sensibility, empathy and the ability to multitask are a few examples of feminine skills which stand out in science. I believe building relationship networks and projects such as Women in Science strengthen and contribute to giving more visibility to female scientists.”