Fernando Barros Ezquerro

Fernando Barros Ezquerro is a third-year medical student at University of São Paulo Medical School, FMUSP. From his childhood, he has devoted himself for the seeking of Truth, holding science to be, as synecdoche of reason, the most fitting instrument to be used in this quest. Over his life, he engaged himself to reach the environments where he could gain access to it, and urged ever more to investigate the phenomena he so far would only read about, thus, passively discover: the functioning of human mind, the complexity of integrative systems of the organism, and how might environment interact with them are questions which never ceased puzzling him. Being one of his major interests the area of immunology, the opportunity to join the efforts of Dr. Paulo Saldiva and Dr. John Godlesky to understand the role environmental pollution plays at the uprising of disease – something which frequently happens by modulation of immune responses – is most coherent with his purposes: new instruments at hand, for the very same search. Although science has great importance on itself, Fernando understands it has intrinsically also a social responsibility, and that is why he, with other six colleagues, represented FMUSP at the XXII Brazilian Congress of Medical Students, in January 2010, in which about 200 academics from medical schools all over the country gathered to outline the main goals that should be defended this year by Brazilian medical students leaderships concerning health policies and medical education. Also, believing the very touchable people are no less important than humanity, since the year of 2008 he works on a volunteer project for medical care in a poor area of São Paulo. Fernando believes this exchange experience will be most profitable in many ways: for himself, culturally; for his colleagues, by sharing what he learned; for societies and governments, by enlarging the already robust data available on pollution for rationally guiding further actions; and, finally, for his patients in the future, whose pollution-related conditions he will certainly have to cope with – asthma, allergies, cardiovascular conditions, etc.

Alexandre Fligelman Kanas

Alexandre Fligelman Kanas is a student at the 3rd year of the USP Medical School (FMUSP). He attended high school at “Colégio Bandeirantes”, where he had his first opportunity of contact with laboratories, thus awakening his interest in scientific research. As soon as he was admitted to FMUSP, at the age of 17, he promptly sought to interact with the research field, and was approved in the first position in a contest that awarded him a one month laboratory scholarship at the renowned Weizmann Institute of Science, in Rehovot, Israel (International Summer Science Institute), where he worked side-by-side with great scientists, and was close to young people from all over the world with similar scientific interests. Furthermore, at the end of this period, he presented to the other Institute’s students and professors the outcome of his research (“T-cell tolerance as a function of tumor progression”) and published such work in a magazine of the Institute. Still, in the first semester of the University, he started a Project of Scientific Initiation in the Neuroimage area where he resorts to Nuclear Medicine’s methods to evaluate morphologic and functional changes in the Alzheimer Disease. In addition, he also worked in a research project in the Cardiac Pathologic Anatomy area at InCor (“Heart Institute”). Since 2006, he is a member of “Mensa Brasil”, the Brazilian branch of “Mensa International” association, an international society of high IQ whose one of the purposes is to encourage research for the benefit of Humanity and this purpose fits straight into Alexandre’s future life project. Further, he is a member of the Rugby team of his University’s Athletic Department and he was also in the Judo’s team at the same Institution. He also attended dozens of extra-curricular courses and congresses related to the medical area. He always sought to have an active participation in the academic scenario of his University, where he was director of the Scientific Department in 2009, being in charge of organizing several courses among the most distinct Medicine areas throughout the year. In 2010, still at the Scientific Department, he was Coordinator of Extension, being responsible for enrolling and validating the activity of all the Leagues of the University. He was affiliated with the Leagues of Fighting against Syphilis and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Diseases of Thyroid; of Sleeping Diseases; of Clinical Anatomy; and of Plastic Surgery, being director of the first two ones. He was further involved in the organization of the Medical University Congress (COMU) in 2009 and 2010; and was member of the Scientific Commission of the Medical Education Congress of São Paulo in 2010. He has also participated in cultural activities at the University, and a proud member of the “Show Medicina” Cultural Association. Moreover, he participates and is volunteer at the Youths’ Department of Congregação Israelita Paulista (CIP) for more than 6 years, and exercised the following roles: coaching partner to 13 to 15 youths, leader for the Community Services at the Children’s Home, coordinator for Warm Clothing Campaigns, coordinator for recreational activities to CIP’s Elderly Group, responsible for training youths for future leadership roles and, since 2006, in charge of organizing, divulging and producing all CIP’s philanthropic events. Alexandre is really looking forward to participating in this interchange program with the internationally recognized Harvard’s School of Public Health, from where he is sure to bring cutting edge research knowledge, which he intends to replicate upon his return to Brazil, and share the most of it with his colleagues and professors. In addition, besides working in an area so important nowadays as the Cardiopulmonary effects of the pollution, under the supervision of Professor John Godleski, the chance of being at one of the central points of worldwide interchange flow will bring not only this priceless knowledge but also the chance of knowing, as he did at Weizmann Institute, high level researchers as well as young people with huge interest in science, being probably the future researchers of the state of the art labs all over the world, which can contribute in the future to internationally multicenter research.

João Arthur Brunhara Alves Barbosa

João Arthur Brunhara Alves Barbosa is currently a forth-year undergraduate of medicine at University of São Paulo School of Medicine (FMUSP). He was born and raised in São Paulo and attended both elementary and high school at Colégio Bandeirantes, widely recognized as one of the best educational institutions in the country. He was ranked among top performance students throughout elementary school and constantly ranked 1st in high school at exact sciences. During high school he took advanced classes in English, Spanish and Mathematics and had one of his texts chosen for publication in the school's textbook. He entered FMUSP at the age of 17 being ranked 10th at the entrance exam. He was ranked 1st at the entrance exam of other two top notch medical schools, Unifesp and Unicamp. At FMUSP he takes part in several extracurricular activities. He was member of the Neurosurgery Club and the Acupuncture Club and is currently member of the Urology Club and director of the Chronic Kidney Disease Club. João is also student assistant at the department of Surgery, being awarded the Anatomy Mentoring Scholarship. He performs weekly dissections and tutors second-year medical students dissection groups. He also took part of research activities early in college. He has studied ischemia and reperfusion injury in intestinal transplantation with Prof. Luiz Poli de Figueiredo. He is research assistant at the laboratory of Urology, under orientation of Prof. Alberto Antunes. There he currently studies the expression of inflammatory, angiogenic and growth factors in the prostate and angiogenic factors in the bladder of patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Working with Prof. Antunes, he has had a paper accepted for publication in the journal Urologic Oncology regarding the necessity of prostate biopsy in patients with long-standing bladder catheter. He is also research assistant at the laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution, where he studies the effect of air pollution on respiratory function of taxi drivers and traffic control operators, under orientation of Prof. Paulo Saldiva. During college, he has also dedicated himself to the study of Epistemology, Analytical Philosophy, French and Italian. João looks forward to the opportunity of doing research at Children's Hospital under orientation of Prof. Hiep Nguyen. There he expects to get in touch with technologic advances in Urology such as robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery and molecular imaging. He believes this year of research will provide invaluable knowledge and skills acquisition, thus contributing to his studies and bringing novel technological perspectives to FMUSP.

João Paulo Vaz Tostes Ribeiro de Oliveira

João Paulo Vaz Tostes Ribeiro de Oliveira is a third-year FMUSP student. He was born at a peripheral city council of São Paulo city called Diadema. At his childhood he had the valuable opportunity to perceive human necessities by witnessing various kinds of deprivations such as lack of adequate working conditions, lack of educational input, lack of quality of life, lack of good health and was fortunate to have the most sincere concern on how life happens and to receive solid moral and academical education to get to his early dream: to be a doctor, to understand human suffering biological- and psychologically and possibly to be able to mitigate it through the passionate dedication coming from empathy. At age 13, took first place on a Challenge Trial offered by Objetivo High School, so he won a scholarship in one of the most traditional educational institutes in Brazil. After achieving his second great dream, to study medicine in the most prestigious medical school in Latin America, has entered an exciting and intense academic life. He attended the Optional Course of Heart Transplantation and worked in Academic Medicine Extension, an assistance group of two poor neighborhoods of Sao Paulo. João was Director of Scientific Department of FMUSP and Director of Journal of Medicine, proudly the oldest scientific journal made by academics in the world; also he organized Oswaldo Cruz Prize and two editions of the Universitarian Medical Congress. He participated in several courses and medical conferences, either watching, or presenting scientific papers. Currently João is director of leagues (Epilepsy League, Pain League, and League of Heart Transplantation) and a dedicated member of Neurosurgery League and Thyroid League. Furthermore, he has the honor of researching at the Laboratory of Experimental Neurosurgery, studying at the moment painful processes in models of spinal cord injury under the distinct guidance of Dr. Gerson Chadi, exponent in regeneration of central nervous system. Another of his passions is the possibility of helping patients with his own hands, and is very grateful to be an undergraduate member of Dr. Vergilius José Furtado de Araújo Filho´s Group of Head and Neck Surgery, prominent surgeon in the specialty, and to the exemplary Dr. Hyun Seung Yoon, both important role models. Goju-Ryu Karate practice has been his extra-academical reference since six years old, which has deeply contributed to his moral education. He takes part in the Rugby Team of FMUSP. The student is pleased with global concern about environmental issues and about its tragical repercussions for the next generations, but thinks that there is a legitimate need to explicate how public health is impaired by pollution nowadays, and believes that the impacts on cardiorespiratory systems are good arguments for correcting the problem. Science for him has always been a fascinating and precious segment of human capacities, and what makes us feel humble in front of nature´s complexity and still proud of being courageous enough to attempt comprehending it. Thus he is really happy about what he has learned up to now, tremendously excited by what comes forward and thrilling with the possibility of making true his current dream of getting intimate contact with Harvard way of producing knowledge.

Lucas Chen

Lucas Chen is currently a third year medical student at FMUSP, who lives in São Paulo, a city that is considered as one of the most populated in the world. The city is home to more than 20 millions of people, with approximately 37 millions of vehicles circulating in its streets. Air pollution and dry air are some of the issues this metropolitan city has to deal with, causing over the years respiratory diseases in its habitants. As an example,in August 2010 Sao Paulohad the dierest air since 1940 and despite the government saying that the air quality is within normal limits, the hospital admissions for respiratory diseases in the Santa Casa Hospital rose 30% over the previous month, and 80% of pneumonia cases are caused by pollution. Concerned about his health and the others who lives in Sao Paulo, Lucas Chen recognized the urgency of a proactive plan to revert this situation and diminish the air pollution. Thus, the opportunity to work in a scientific project regarding environmental health at HSPH under Prof. John Godleski matches with his interest and enables him to experience the methodology of American researcher. Afterwrads, he plans to continue studying environmental health and share his acquired knowledge in this program with his university.
Currently, Lucas Chen is the president of the academic group of Liver Transplant and Surgery, he has dedicated his time researching about organs transplantations and it’s surgery methods. Recently he has joined the Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy academic study group where he learns and experiences anesthesia in surgery procedures. His latest work, entitled as “ Non-heart beating donors in England” was presented in the Joint 6th ELITA-ELTR Annual Meeting 5th International Meeting on Transplantation from Non-Heart Beating Donors. His interest in the medical field are: surgery, cardiology, urology and pathology. To expand his knowledge in such fields, he has recently joined in a research group about comparison between the subendocardial viability index obtained by tonometry, and myocardial perfusion scintigraph, and is pretending to ingress in the urology academic study group.
As for his extra-academic activities, he used swim for the university’s swimming team and practices the acoustic guitar. Every once in a week he takes mandarin classes and studies Chinese drawing.

Lucas Nóbrega

Lucas Nóbrega, 21, was born in São Carlos, a countryside town in Brazil, known by its two great universities: University of São Paulo (USP) and Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). Since six years old, he has helped his parents in the family flower shop activities (whose name “Amor e Flor” means “Love and Flowers”), where he learned the importance of working, dealing with people and doing things that you enjoy. Regarding his priorities in life, he considers the most important his family and his study.

His passion for learning emerged while, by the age of thirteen, he started to participate on science courses for young students and science competition at universities as USP and UFSCar. Today, he is a third year medical student at University of São Paulo School of Medicine, doing research related to “trauma models in rats”, which importance is developing new approaches to trauma patients at USP hospitals. For these studies he is sponsored by the greatest research foundation in Brazil: FAPESP. He has participated in more than forty Courses related to Science, won five medals in science competitions, was approved in six Medical Public Universities in their Medical Course, always being among the first one hundred candidates: University of São Paulo (7^th place), Federal University of São Paulo (7^th place), University of Campinas (24^th place), Federal University of São Carlos (26^th place), University of State of São Paulo Júlio de Mesquita Filho (72th place), Federal University of Ouro Preto(6^th place).

Lucas lives at a student house built to help students with financial difficulties living in São Paulo, which is held by University of São Paulo School of Medicine and donations.

He thinks that the next decade will be really important for the creation of a new country in Brazil, and to face educational, cultural, and all sorts of Brazilian challenges, the most needed asset is “people”. Lucas sees researching at Harvard not just as an opportunity to bring new ideas to a building country, but as an opportunity to make good ideas fit Brazilian needs.

As a dream for the future, he imagines himself creating a new company related to technological transference from University to society in the field of medical devices, taking as examples successful stories like Opto and MMoptics from São Carlos, his hometown.

Marcel Faraco Sobrado

Marcel Faraco Sobrado was born and lives in São Paulo, the largest city in South-America, well known for its serious air pollution issues. He is a fourth-year medical student at Universidade de São Paulo and attends many extra-curricular and academic activities besides the full time regular schedule. His life interests in communitarian care started early, when he was still in high school (Colégio Santa Cruz) where he had the opportunity to be engaged in social projects with the purpose of providing education and better health conditions in a slum called Jaguaré, a poor community of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in São Paulo. At university, he is engaged in a Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) analyzing the effects of the use of platelet rich plasma in tendon healing in athletes. Since his second year, he has participated in the Orthopedic and Traumalogy League, in which he became President in 2009, having the valuable experience of organizing courses for medical students and attending an international Congress. Interested in learning more about Intensive Medicine, he has also attended a course at the Hospital Sírio Libanes, one of Latin America’s leading hospitals. As for the non-academic activities, he was given the opportunity to play at his university’s rugby team, which he has been doing since 2007. Living in a metropolis, Marcel’s concerns are focused on the cardiopulmonary effects of air pollution not just as researcher but also as citizen. His previous research experience at FMUSP and his enrollment in previous civic activities in the academic environment made him strongly believe that throughout high level research, it’s possible to produce and diffuse knowledge to make relevant changes in society in developing countries, such as Brazil. Marcel believes that this opportunity of working hard and learning with experiments on the effects of air pollution in cardiac and pulmonary systems at one of leading and the most prestigious academic institution around the world in public health, Harvard School of Public Health, is an excellent step towards becoming a better researcher and health professional.

Rodrigo Hideharo Sato

Rodrigo Hideharo Sato is a student of third year of undergraduate medicine at the School of Medicine, University of São Paulo. He was born in Ribeirão Preto, a city where lives almost 700 000 people, one of the largest cities in the state of Sao Paulo and the largest producer of sugar and ethanol in the country. This economic activity that is so important to Brazil uses an archaic form of production in which fires are made for cutting the cane. This burning produces huge amounts of particulate matter, and because of this intimate contact with the pollution and its effects Rodrigo has an interest in studying the impact of pollution on humans. During his time at university Rodrigo took part of social projects for population in need. In one of the projects he teaches Brazilian history for underprivileged people in a preparatory course named MedEnsina. In another, he assists in caring for needy people who don’t have the appropriate health monitoring and medical support, in remote regions of São Paulo, project that occurs on Saturdays. His initial research experience in the FMUSP is in the Department of psychiatry and it’s about the association between clinical characteristics of bipolar disorder and family history of mood disorder in first degree relatives. Rodrigo believes that living a year in the USA to study and conduct researches at Harvard is a unique opportunity to evolve as a student maybe help to change the reality of his native land.

Vitor Chiarini Zanetta

Vitor Chiarini Zanetta, a forth year graduation student at the school of medicine of Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP) was born and lives in São Paulo, one of the largest metropolis in the world, with more then 11 million habitants. Vitor is concerned about Brazil’s lack of quality in health care and structure. Having passed 30 days travelling through the Northeast of Brazil by car, driving over 9.000 kilometers, in straight contact with the whole population of that area, helped him to understand the poverty that still prevails in Brazil and the urgent need of assistance. Academically Vitor took part in many extra-curricular activities during his years at FMUSP, such as being the vice-president of the Orthopedics and Traumatology students group for one year, which is a group devoted to get graduation students in contact with the orthopedics area, and having studied the causes of sudden death in São Paulo state. Also, Vitor was a monitor in surgical techniques classes, helping third year graduation students during their course. Currently Vitor is studying the data collected in a field research referring to the quality of sleep of sugarcane harvesters, a group of people that has a hard working journey and is exposed to large amounts of inhaled CO in the process of cane burning.Vitor is also a member and director of Show Medicina, which is a comedy theater group of FMUSP students, that is performed twice a year Harvard is thought to be a priceless opportunity due to its structure and organization. This exchange program could expand his academic view and improve his scientific research practice. The outcome of this opportunity could contribute to his professional skills and also to both universities.

Vitor Penteado Figueiredo Pagotto

Vitor Penteado Figueiredo Pagotto is a third-year medical school student at the University of São Paulo (FMUSP). Having been born in São Paulo, the city with the worst air pollution problem in Brazil, he sees this opportunity to conduct air pollution research at Harvard School of Public Health as unique. His active involvement in science will be ensured by the fact that he is an outstanding student: graduated from Colégio Bandeirantes, one of Brazil’s leading private high schools, he was awarded bronze medal on the São Paulo’s Chemistry Olympiad and another one on the Brazilian Chemistry Olympiad. Besides that, he took part in “Biotechnology Project”, which developed ethical and technical issues related to biotechnology. As a result of his studies, Vitor seeks to deepen his knowledge in order to become a medical doctor able to improve the reality of people. This has been an issue of major concern to him since he got into the college. Therefore, he has done volunteer work related to teaching people of lower social brackets and providing them medical care. Furthermore, he is the president of the “Bandeira Científica”, a multidisciplinary university extension project executed by the Medicine, Psychology, Physical Therapy, Nutrition, Dentistry, Speech Therapy, Journalism, Agronomy, Civil and Environmental Engineering courses in underserved cities. It performs more than 7000 activities per year such as medical care and exams, epidemiological surveys, reports on the health system and on the city hall structure, among other relevant actions that help the city to overcome its difficulties. Vitor plans to take advantage of his time in Boston to learn about the structure, the functioning and the values that guide an institution as renowned as Harvard and then bring this knowledge back to Brazil. He is sure that experiencing the American lifestyle will make him more capable to confront the inequality ofBrazil.

Caio Mansano de Oliveira

Caio Mansano de Oliveira is currently a fourth year undergraduate at University of São Paulo Medical School (FMUSP). Since he decided to follow the medical career he devoted totally to his studies and in the year 2007 was able to pass the most difficult university admission test in Brazil. His remarkable position can be illustrated with the fact that he was the 21^st in the ranking, considering the competitiveness figures of approximately 300.000 candidates for 185 vacancies.

Being a brilliant student naturally, he kept his outstanding performance through the university course, having never failed or retaken a single examination. Besides, he has constantly expressed the interest of getting involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities, above all in the surgical field. Some of the extracurricular activities mentioned include the participation in surgical clubs, such as Cardio-Thoracic, Traumatology, Intensive-Care, Anesthesiology, Plastic Surgery and Urology, having also performed very well as a monitor of the subject of surgical techniques for third-year students. Nevertheless, he acts as a surgical assistant and practises dissections.

In the scientific research field, he has being developing culture of mesenchymal cells for repopulation of acellular matrix to be placed on patients suffering from complex injuries and serious burn cases. Except his academic involvement, he has been a member of the water polo team of FMUSP since 2007, being a director of this sport in the years of 2007 and 2008.

During the year of 2011, having the opportunity of working with Prof. Hiep Nguyen at the Children’s Hospital in Harvard, one of the most emblematic universities in the world, he expects to familiarize with new research techniques and the highest levels of technology in urology, such as a robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery and molecular imaging.

Exchange Students 2011

This is an introduction to the students who will research at Harvard on 2011.


Alexandre Fligelman Kanas is a student at the 3rd year of the USP Medical School (FMUSP).

Fernando Barros Ezquerro is a third-year medical student at University of São Paulo Medical School, FMUSP.

João Arthur Brunhara Alves Barbosa is currently a forth-year undergraduate of medicine at University of São Paulo School of Medicine (FMUSP).

João Paulo Vaz Tostes Ribeiro de Oliveira is a third-year FMUSP student.


Lucas Chen is currently a third year medical student at FMUSP, who lives in São Paulo, a city that is considered as one of the most populated in the world.

Lucas Nóbrega, was born in São Carlos, a countryside town in Brazil, known by its two great universities: University of São Paulo (USP) and Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar).

Marcel Faraco Sobrado was born and lives in São Paulo, the largest city in South-America, well known for its serious air pollution issues.

Rodrigo Hideharo Sato is a student of third year of undergraduate medicine at the School of Medicine, University of São Paulo.

Vitor Chiarini Zanetta, a forth year graduation student at the school of medicine of Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP) was born and lives in São Paulo, one of the largest metropolis in the world, with more then 11 million habitants.

Vitor Penteado Figueiredo Pagotto is a third-year medical school student at the University of São Paulo (FMUSP).