Obtained his PhD in 1999 and postdoctoral training in 2002 in biomedical sciences at the University of Montreal, following his DVM and MSc in veterinary sciences in Brazil. He joined McGill?s Department of Animal Science in July 2002. His is the Director of the McGill Large Animal Research Unit. His lab produced the first cloned and transgenic pigs in Canada by somatic cell nuclear transfer. His current research program in reproductive biology and animal biotechnology is: i) investigating how early stage embryos deal with stressful conditions by regulating coping mechanisms that allow them to survive without passing on altered or damaged genomes that threaten development and later life; ii) studying how cell reprogramming is regulated in embryos produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer; and iii) using genome editing tools (CRISPR/Cas system) along with in vitro embryo technologies and somatic cell nuclear transfer to create gene edited embryos and live pigs to study development, metabolism and pathophysiology mechanisms.
Possui graduação em Medicina Veterinária (1988) e especialização em Medicina Veterinária com ênfase em Reprodução Animal pela Universidade da Região da Campanha (1990), mestrado em Medicina Veterinária pela Universidade Federal de Pelotas (1993), doutorado (1999) e pós-doutorado (2002) em Ciências Biomédicas pela Universidade de Montreal no Canadá. Incorporou-se ao Departamento de Ciência Animal da Universidade McGill em julho de 2002 e atualmente é o diretor da Unidade de Pesquisa em Grandes Animais desta universidade.
