Article published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology shares the challenges of rebuilding a scientific career in Brazil after work abroad
Researcher Sandra Martha Gomes Dias of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) was invited by the scientific journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology to write an article about her trajectory as a Brazilian scientist who, after five years of post-doctoral studies at Cornell University in the US, returned to continue her scientific work and establish a research group at CNPEM.
Researcher Sandra Dias at CNPEM
Entitled “Returning Home: Fostering Growth of Brazilian Research,” the article shares the pathways and challenges of rebuilding a scientific career in Brazil after her experiences abroad. Through her personal story, Dias highlights the importance of robust funding programs that offer researchers long-term opportunities and emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary scientific institutions and well-structured, dynamic research ecosystems in the country, all essential factors for professionals who have been part of what is known as the scientific diaspora to feel motivated to return.
In her case, FAPESP’s Young Researcher Program and the possibility of working at CNPEM (where she currently coordinates a group dedicated to studying glutamine metabolism in cancer) were decisive to making her feel confident about returning to Brazil.
The article also addresses structural issues related to the funding of Brazilian science in recent decades, geographical and economic barriers faced by research groups in different regions of the country, and the constant need for resilience and creativity to overcome daily challenges in scientific development.
“Coming home as a principal investigator is not a tale of heroism. It is a story of commitment — to students, to science, and to the possibility that research can flourish even in imperfect systems,” reads an excerpt from the article.
The full text is available on the Nature Structural & Molecular Biology website at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41594-025-01609-2 .
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM’s research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC).
