Perfil

Vitor Francisco Ferreira graduated in Chemistry from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in 1976, obtained a Master’s degree in Natural Products Chemistry from the same institution in 1980, and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, in 1984. He did post-doctoral work at the University of Oklahoma in 1997. He was a Full Professor in the Department of Organic Chemistry at Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) between 1986 and 2017, and is currently Professor Emeritus in the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology at UFF.

His research focuses on organic chemistry, with an emphasis on the synthesis of bioactive molecules and asymmetric methodologies with applications in diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis and Chagas disease. He is a full member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, a Commander of the National Order of Scientific Merit (2009) and a foreign corresponding member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences since 2024.

He was Pro-Rector for Research, Postgraduate Studies and Innovation at UFF (2017-2018) and is currently an advisor to the President of FAPERJ and an alternate member of the Higher Council of the Federal Institute of Rio de Janeiro. He was vice-president of the Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ) twice and its president between 2012 and 2014.

He coordinated bilateral CAPES-FCT and CAPES-GRICES projects with the University of Aveiro (2008-2017), promoting scientific cooperation between Brazil and Portugal. Among his distinctions are the Walter Mors Medal (2011), the Lavoisier Medal (2013), a tribute from the Portuguese Chemistry Society (2013), the Ângelo da Cunha Pinto Medal (2018), the Simão Mathias Medal (2019) and the title of Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2014).