De Mendonca Fernandes, Glaucia Maria

Positions

Postdoctoral Associate, Cellular and Molecular Medicine , Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

gdemendo@fiu.edu

https://www.linkedin.com/in/glauciammfernandes/

biography

Dr. Glaucia Maria de Mendonça Fernandes’s journey into cancer research began in a high school classroom in São Paulo, Brazil. As a biology teacher in the public school system, she witnessed firsthand how science could empower and transform lives. One moment stood out: a student confided that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer, and that Glaucia’s lessons helped him understand the disease and cope with the fear surrounding it. That experience deeply moved her and planted a seed, she realized that knowledge could heal not only directly through medicine, but also indirectly through education and research.
Driven by this conviction, she pursued a master’s and later a Ph.D. in Health Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine of São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), supported by competitive research grants from FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation) and CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel), two of Brazil’s leading state and federal agencies for academic funding. These grants enabled her to investigate cancer biomarkers, microRNA regulation, and tumor stem cells—particularly in colorectal, head and neck, liver, and breast cancers. She became fascinated by the concept of cancer stem cells: elusive, resilient, and central to tumor recurrence. This fascination turned into a mission—to uncover their secrets and contribute to more effective therapies.
From 2009 to 2022, Dr. Fernandes balanced her teaching career with academic advancement, earning postgraduate specializations in Basic and Clinical Analysis, Neuropsychopedagogy, and Strategic Management of Innovation in Science and Technology. The COVID-19 pandemic marked a turning point. Amid global uncertainty, she sought new horizons and enrolled in an MBA in Data Science and Analytics at the University of São Paulo (Esalq/USP), determined to integrate computational tools into her biomedical work.
This transition led her to the United States, where she completed postdoctoral training in Neurosciences at The Ohio State University, gaining expertise in neuropathology, epitranscriptomics, imaging analysis, machine learning and translational oncology. Today, as a postdoctoral associate at Florida International University, Dr. Fernandes combines biomolecular and imaging analysis with machine learning to identify novel biomarkers in glioblastoma and meningioma. With 19 peer-reviewed publications and over 140 citations, her work reflects a lifelong commitment to using science as a tool for healing, understanding, and transformation.

research interests

Molecular mechanisms of brain tumors, particularly glioblastoma
Integration of machine learning and AI for neuropathological data analysis
Epigenetic and epitranscriptomic regulation in neuro-oncology (e.g., RNA methylation, non-coding RNAs)
Translational neuroscience: bridging molecular findings to clinical applications
Advanced imaging and omics technologies for brain tumor profiling
Precision medicine approaches in neuro-oncology
Organoid model related to radio and chemotherapy resistance
Interdisciplinary innovation at the interface of neuroscience, data science, and bioinformatics