Rate My Professor Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães Pereira

Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães Pereira is Professor Titular at the Instituto de Biologia of Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), where he leads the Laboratório de Genômica e BioEnergia (LGE). He holds a degree in Agronomic Engineering from Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA, 1987), a Master’s in Genetics from ESALQ/USP (1990), a Doctorate in Molecular Genetics from the University of Düsseldorf, Germany (1994), and completed postdoctoral training at the Instituto de Química/USP (1996). He joined UNICAMP in 1996 as a FAPESP Young Researcher, advancing to Assistant Professor (1997), Livre-Docente (2004), and full Professor (2009). His research focuses on the molecular understanding of microorganisms and plants and their application in sustainable productive systems at the interface of genetics, tropical agriculture, and bioenergy.

Pereira has contributed to major initiatives including the Xylella fastidiosa genome project, genomic programs in coffee, eucalyptus, and macaúba, and platforms addressing witches’ broom in cacao, energy cane productivity, second-generation ethanol fermentation, and green routes for the chemical industry. He currently coordinates the BRAVE (Brazilian Agave Development) program. His scientific output includes 204 articles in international journals with over 11,234 citations and an h-index of 54, along with 47 patent applications (5 international), 15 granted patents, 3 licensed, and 8 registered software programs. He has supervised 56 master’s students, 56 doctoral students, 28 postdoctoral researchers, and 96 scientific initiation students. Institutional roles include department head, coordinator of the Bioenergy Graduate Program, and director of the Laboratório Nacional do Bioetanol (CTBE/CNPEM). He is a CNPq Researcher 1A, member of the Academia de Ciências do Estado de São Paulo and the Academia Brasileira de Ciências Agronômicas, and has received awards including the Mérito Científico e Tecnológico do Governo do Estado de São Paulo (2000), Prêmio FINEP (2003), Prêmio Santander (2014), Medalha Nacional do Mérito Científico – Comendador (MCTI, 2023), and Prêmio ANP de Inovação Tecnológica (2025).