FAPESP Panels
Maria Rita dos Santos e Passos Bueno Versão em português
Area Panels - Biology (Bio II)
Holds a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of São Paulo (USP) in 1980, a master's (1983), and a doctorate in Biological Sciences (Genetic Biology, 1987), both also from USP (1987). Completed postdoctoral fellowships at USP and the University of Oxford (1988-1990). At Oxford, she received training in molecular biology techniques applied to human genetics, which were implemented in the Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology in 1989.
She obtained the title of Full Professor of Genetics in 2007. From 2009 to 2012, she was the Head of the Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology at the Institute of Biosciences, USP.
She has experience in the field of Human Genetics and Molecular Genomics, mainly focusing on investigations aimed at understanding the genetic mechanisms of the following developmental diseases: Treacher Collins Syndrome, Cleft Lip and Palate, and Syndromic Craniosynostoses. She has also dedicated herself to studies in the area of genetics/genomics of autism.
More recently, she has been developing research in stem cells to understand the genetic mechanisms associated with craniofacial diseases and autism, as well as for bone tissue regeneration with a focus on the rehabilitation of patients with craniofacial syndromes. She also coordinates a genetic counseling service for families of patients with craniofacial syndromes and autism spectrum disorders.
She coordinates the Molecular Disease Diagnosis Laboratory at the Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center and is the Coordinator of the Technology Transfer Area at the Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center (CEGH-CEL), one of the FAPESP Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Centers (CEPID).