Vinícius de Maria Gadotti

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I am a Pharmacist, and received my PhD in Neurosciences from the Federal University of Santa Catarina UFSC in 2009, where I studied neurobiology of pain. My thesis was based on in vivo pharmacology of pain transmission and the identification of mechanism of action of endogenous modulators of pain signalling. Another great part of my scientific development was a postdoctoral trainee position in Dr. Zamponis lab in the University of Calgary for 6 years, where I studied how anxiety and depression arise from inflammatory disorders. I also participated in several studies related to the development of novel pain-relieving calcium channel blockers, besides being a co-creator of one of Zymedyne Therapeutics platforms of technology. I am currently an Adjunct Research Assistant Professor - Research Ccoordinator at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada..My research focuses mainly on in vivo and molecular pharmacology of pain and by the use of optogenetics technique, I try to understand how pain happens in a molecular level as well as how proteins involved in pain signaling are regulated and how they contribute to electrical signals responsible for pain transmission in the live animal. I also aim to identify brain circuits involved in pain processing, and decipher brain connections and circuits responsible for the genesis and maintenance of depression and anxiety accompanying inflammatory processes. I aim to discovering new mechanisms responsible for diseases with the goal to to produce newer and more effecacious molecules that will improve our ability to treat patients and prevent the economic burden to society related to the high cost of treatment of chronic diseases.