Renata is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Neurobiology of Addiction Section under George F. Koob. As a 2018 CCB Fellow, Renata is developing novel mouse models of opioid addiction to study the role of reward- and stress-related neurotransmitters and sexual dimorphism in compulsive-like drug taking and seeking. Her long-term goal is to identify new targets for the treatment of drug use disorders.
Renata received her Pharm.D. from Sao Paulo State University (Brazil) in 2011 and obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) in 2013 and 2017, respectively. During her Ph.D. program she systematically investigated the involvement of the HPA axis and the tachykinergic system in vulnerability and resilience to social defeat stress in mice.
In her free time, Renata enjoys reading fantasy/science fiction, practicing yoga, and hiking.