My relationship with endocrinology actually started before I even knew what endocrinology was; in my family, I had many relatives with hormone-related problems, such as obesity, diabetes, and thyroid disorders. I can still remember asking my mother why she was taking medicine every day. She told me that it was for her thyroid since her body did not produce thyroid hormones.
Thankfully, the medication my mother took when I was a child has continued to help her maintain her health to this day.
As is often the case with children, I had forgotten all about my mother’s medication and her thyroid condition but was reminded of endocrinology once again when I began my undergraduate degree in biological sciences at University of Itaúna in Brazil. When I was studying physiology, those old dysfunctions finally started to make sense to me and I could understand these issues a little better.
When I entered the laboratory to prepare for my master’s degree in endocrinology at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, I was stepping into a lab that was well known for endocrine physiology. Here in the lab, I saw firsthand how perfect a field of study endocrinology would be for me. I began to understand how hormones are produced and secreted, as well as their interactions with other hormones and the many other components of the organism.
It was incredible then and it’s incredible now! Each day I want to learn more and more. It’s exciting. I chose endocrinology because I felt a kinship to it, an attraction to the science of it all, and it has always seemed like a perfect, natural fit. I’m also fortunate that I have an advisor and mentor who continues to inspire me: Rodrigo Fortunato, PhD, a physiology professor at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. I have been continuously amazed by his knowledge of endocrine physiology and his able mastery of the content. Dr. Fortunato is the type of mentor, scientist, and professional I hope to be.
I truly believe that the world needs more knowledge about endocrinology and endocrine science. It can only improve the lives and the health for everybody.
However, one of my fondest wishes to be able to communicate my knowledge about the many charms of endocrinology to others. I truly believe that the world needs more knowledge about endocrinology and endocrine science. It can only improve the lives and the health for everybody. I hope one day to be able to communicate such knowledge to the world … but in the meantime, I will spread this knowledge among my peers and students.
To put it simply, I live, work, breathe, play, and study endocrinology. For me, endocrinology and endocrine science has become not just a field of study, but my life’s ambition. It is a life of autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine activity that I never want to live without. After graduation, I intend to continue my research and teaching, either here or somewhere else in the world. To put it simply: I love what I do: Search, discover, teach, repeat.
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