University of Birmingham Brazil Institute: News and Events

Students embark on immersive cultural programme to the Amazon entailing a Global Leaders Dialogue in São Paulo

A group of University of Birmingham students embarked on the adventure of a lifetime - travelling to the heart of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest for a two-week Immersive Summer School, to promote the “Voices of Youth” ahead of COP30 taking place in November in Belém, Brazil. The eight students joined their Brazilian counterparts, undergraduate students from Pará and the riverine community, to work together and explore ways of tackling climate change and sustainability challenges.

The trip not only provided immersive cultural, language, and social experiences but also opportunities for the students to enhance their knowledge and analytical skills by developing creative solutions to address several key sustainable development goals.

The programme culminated in a Global Leaders Dialogue hosted by the University of Birmingham Brazil Institute in partnership with the British Embassy in Brazil, in São Paulo, aimed at celebrating the 200 Years of Diplomatic Relations between the UK and Brazil, and the University of Birmingham's 125th Anniversary. This event also created an opportunity for the UBBI Immerse Amazonia Summer School students, both from Brazil and the UK, to share their immersive learning experience in the rainforest as a transformational opportunity for development and academic enrichment. Such a pivotal international collaboration was celebrated by His Majesty the UK’s Ambassador to Brazil, Mrs. Stephanie Al-Qaq.             

The fattening forest: trees of the Amazon are getting bigger

A new study reveals that trees in Amazon forests have gotten “fatter” with average size increasing by 3.2% every decade, consistent with rising CO2 levels. The team of almost a hundred researchers monitored the size of trees in 188 permanent plots, discovering the increase had continued for at least 30 years. This result is an output of a long-standing partnership between universities in South America, the UK and beyond, all committed to researching the impact of environmental crises such as climate change on tropical rainforests. Read more about the engaging work of this study here.

USP–UoB Scientific Workshop in Brazil supported by UBBI–USP Seed Fund

A joint scientific workshop between University of Birmingham and University of São Paulo on “Mitochondria, autophagy and pluripotent stem cell-based disease models” was held at the historic building of Faculdade de Medicina in University of São Paulo during 04–05 June 2025. This event was supported by the 2024–2025 University of Birmingham Brazil Institute (UBBI)–University of São Paulo Seed Fund awarded to Dr Sovan Sarkar and Professor Edecio Cunha-Neto, who co-organised the event.

The workshop featured 16 invited speakers representing 5 different Faculties and Institutes at University of São Paulo (USP, Brazil), as well as from São Paulo State University of Campinas (UNICAMP, Brazil), Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP, Brazil), INSERM (France), University of Birmingham (UK), and NMN Bio Ltd (UK). Presentations and panel discussions spanned a broad spectrum of topics in biology related to mitochondria, metabolism and autophagy, as well as human diseases including cardiac and neurological diseases––ranging from fundamental research and genetic studies in transgenic animal models to translational studies using patient-derived cellular and organoid systems.

The event attracted 198 registered attendees from over 40 Universities and research institutions across São Paulo State and other regions of Brazil, with participants joining in person and online. Interactions among the speakers and the attendees occurred both during the academic program as well as during the social activities. By covering a wide range of biologically relevant topics, the workshop fostered new connections and collaborative opportunities among participating research groups. There was strong interest from both the speakers and the audience in organizing a sequel to this meeting next year. 

Dr Sarkar’s lab at the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences in the University of Birmingham collaborates with Professor Edecio Cunha-Neto, who works at the Heart Institute in University of São Paulo School of Medicine, on the biomedical implications of autophagy in cardiomyopathies using human stem cell models. As Head of Global Engagement for the School of Medical Sciences at the College of Medicine and Health, Dr Sarkar met with Professor Valeria Aoki, President of the International Relations Office at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine, to discuss potential scientific collaborations and student exchange opportunities between the medical schools of the University of Birmingham and the University of São Paulo.