“I have a huge passion for my research, and it was very rewarding to see our work recognized through the CRQ-IV Award. When my advisor called me with the news, it took me a few moments to process the information,” says Laura Barros Silva, a student from the Institute of Chemistry at Unicamp (IQ/Unicamp), who won in the “Higher Education Chemistry” category of the award granted by the Regional Chemistry Council of the fourth region (CRQ-IV).
The winning research, titled “Synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of the antiviral activities of new Pd(II) complexes with aminoadamantanes against arboviruses”, was supervised by Dr. Pedro Paulo Corbi, professor at IQ/Unicamp and principal investigator of CEPID CancerThera. This is the second time Corbi has received this award — the first was in 2018. “Receiving this award is an honor and a great satisfaction. It is recognition of the work developed by our research group at IQ/Unicamp, and it motivates our young students to pursue an academic career,” says the researcher.
Silva’s research stood out for its innovative approach to the synthesis and characterization of new palladium complexes with aminoadamantanes, exploring their potential as antivirals against arboviruses — a group of mosquito-borne diseases including dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.
The student is completing her undergraduate degree in Chemistry and has already expressed her intention to advance to graduate studies in the same research line and with the same advisor. She states that the CRQ-IV Award was an incentive in this process: “I have never been so certain of the importance of our research and that this is the field I intend to pursue.”
Like Silva, many other talents are developing with interest in the scope of our research center’s work under Corbi’s guidance. “The search for alternatives to treat various diseases, such as infectious diseases and cancer, is constant in our group, and the students have shown significant awareness of the topic, aligned with the objectives of CancerThera,” emphasizes the researcher.
About the award
The CRQ-IV Award, created in the 1970s, is one of the most traditional honors in the field of Chemistry in the State of São Paulo. Aimed at encouraging the participation of technical and higher education students in research projects, the award is granted annually by the Regional Chemistry Council of the fourth region, celebrating Chemistry Professional Day (June 18).
This year, the award ceremony took place on June 21, in the “Paulo Kobayashi” auditorium at the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo. In addition to public recognition, the winners in each category received certificates and cash prizes. Learn more on the CRQ-IV website.
Text: Romulo Santana Osthues | Photos: Fabiana Cristina Andrade Corbi
