Team

Coordination

Aline Marcele Ghilardi, DSc

Aline holds undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences (2008) and a master's degree in Ecology and Natural Resources (2010) from UFSCar. She also holds a Ph.D. in Geology with an emphasis in Paleontology and Stratigraphy from UFRJ (2015). She was a substitute professor of paleontology and geology at the Vitória de Santo Antão campus of UFPE (2016–2017) and conducted postdoctoral research associated with PPGERN-UFSCar (2017–2019). Currently, she is an adjunct professor in the Department of Geology at UFRN and is part of the graduate programs in Geodynamics and Geophysics (PPGG) and Systematics and Evolution (PPGSE). She also works as a researcher in the Paleontology Sector of the Câmara Cascudo Museum (MCC-UFRN) and is an associate researcher at the Natural History Society (SHN) in Portugal. Additionally, she is part of the international research group Pal(a)eoscientometrics and national research groups linked to UFRN, UFSCar, Unicamp, and UEMG. She is the principal coordinator of DInO-Lab, where she develops research projects and advises students on topics related to paleobiology, paleoichnology, and paleoecology. Her area of expertise is the study of fossil footprints.

Graduate/Postgraduate Students

Zarah Trindade Gomes, MS

She holds Technical Degree in Geology from IFRN in 2019, a Bachelor's degree in Ecology from UFRN in 2022, she also holds a Master's degree in Earth Sciences (Geodynamics Concentration) from PPGG-UFRN in 2024. Her thesis examined sauropod fossil footprints in the Rio do Peixe Basin in Northeast Brazil under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi. She is currently a doctoral student at PPGG-UFRN, continuing the work she began in her master's program under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Aline and the co-supervision of Dr. Tito Aureliano. Her main area of interest is paleoichnology.

Elaine Cristina R. do Nascimento, MS

She holds a degree in Aquaculture Engineering from UFRN (2014), a specialization in Distance Learning and New Technologies from FAEL (2016), and a master's degree in Environment Development from PRODEMA-UFRN (2019). Currently, she is an administrative technician at UFRN and a doctoral student in the PPGSE program at UFRN under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Bruno Tomio Gotto and the co-supervision of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi. Her area of interest is paleomycology.

Virgínia Silva Maciel, MS

Environmental Control Technician from IFRN with a Bachelor's in Ecology from UFRN (2022). She is a Master in Earth Sciences (Geodynamics Concentration) from PPGG-UFRN (2024), where she wrote her thesis on the paleobiology aspects of Quaternary fossil felids in Brazil. She is currently a doctoral student at PPGG-UFRN under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi and the co-supervision of Dr. Tito Aureliano. Her research interests include paleoecology and paleohistology.

Marciana Leandro de Lima, MS

Marciana holds a degree in Biological Sciences from UFRN (2022), a postgraduate in Geoscience Education at IFRN, and a Master in Earth Sciences (Geodynamics Concentration). She conducts research on fossil plants under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi at PPGG-UFRN. Since 2019, she has been a member of the Paleontology Sector of the Câmara Cascudo Museum (MCC), contributing to the identification of plant fossils from the Potiguar Basin and the "Ciência Andante" (Mobile Science) outreach project. Marciana also participates in the MCC's educational activities. Her research interests include paleobotany, paleoecology, environmental education, heritage education, and museum education.

Juan Henrique Bueno Xavier, MS

Juan is a Bachelor in Biological Sciences from UFRN (2021) and Master in Geosciences: Geopaleontological Heritage from the PPGEO-MN/UFRJ program. He is currently enrolled on doctoral programme at PPGSE-UFRN. Under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Aline Ghilardi, Juan's research focuses on the biogeography of fossil echinoids in the Northeast Brazil. Juan is interested in studying fossil invertebrates, particularly paleoichnology, the evolution of Echinodermata, and paleoecology.

Lívia Pacífico Silva

Lívia is a Bachelor in Biological Sciences from UNILESTE and is enrolled on a Master's programme at PPGG-UFRN. She is writing her thesis on fossil macroarthropods from the Potiguar Basin under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi.

Alberto Marques Pilati

Alberto has a degree in Biological Sciences from the 'Centro-Oeste' State University in 2022. Since 2015, he has worked as a paleontology science communicator through the digital project 'PaleoBlog'. He is currently enrolled on a Master's programme at PPGSE-UFRN under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi.

Felipe Eduardo Freire de Melo

Felipe has a degree in Biological Sciences from UFRN (2024). He is currently enrolled on a Master's programme at PPGSE-UFRN. He is dedicated to the study of fossil plants under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi. His research interests lie in education, botany and paleobotany.

Vítor Porpino Gomes Costa

Vitor has a Bachelor's degree in Law (2022) and Biological Sciences (2025) from UFRN. He is interested in the systematics, evolution and palaeontology of vertebrates, particularly actinopterygians. At DInO-Lab, he conducts studies on fossil fish from the Potiguar Basin and other basins in Norteast Brazil. He is currently enrolled on a Master's programme at PPGSE-UFRN, where he is researching the evolution and paleoecology of Pycnodontiformes under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi.

Cledston Matheus Andrade Macário

He is a Bachelor in Biological Sciences from UFRN (2025) and a Master's student in Systematics and Evolution at PPGSE-UFRN, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi and with Prof. Dr. Ana Dal Molin as co-supervisor. During his undergraduate studies, he volunteered at the Adalberto Antonio Varella-Freire Entomological Collection (DMP-CB), assistant teaching entomology courses in the Biological Sciences programme and was an outreach fellow at the Museum of Morphological Sciences at UFRN (2023). He is interested in the entomology and invertebrate paleontology of and is conducting research on the taxonomy and systematics of fossil insects from the Crato Formation (Aptian of the Araripe Basin), with a particular focus on Orthoptera.

William Bruno de Souza Almeida

Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from UFRN (2025), and currently pursuing a Master's degree in Systematics and Evolution at PPGSE-UFRN. His focus is on the study of Cretaceous fossil gastropods, with an emphasis on the Neritimorpha group. He also has an interest in curating paleontological collections, as well as documentation and memory. During his undergraduate studies, he was a technical support scholarship recipient in the curation of paleontological collections at the Câmara Cascudo Museum and conducted research on Quaternary fossils from chastic environments in the TCCE ICMBio/Vale project.

Rennan Cauê Lacerda de Oliveira

Rennan has a degree in Biological Sciences at UFCG (2025). He is currently enrolled in a Master's program at PPGG-UFRN, where he is researching the degradation of the main ichnofossils present in the Rio do Peixe Basin to raise awareness about the importance of preserving scientific heritage. His work is guided by Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi. His interests include paleoichnology and paleoecology.

Ludimilla Reis, ME

Ludimilla earned a degree in Biological Sciences from IFSULDEMINAS in 2019 and completed a sandwich degree at the National University of Piura (UNP) in Peru. She earned her Master of Science in Ecology and Natural Resources from PPGERN-UFSCar, where she wrote her thesis on fossil bite marks on bones from the Bauru Basin under the co-supervision of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi. She has taught science and biology at private elementary and high schools throughout her career. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at PPGERN-UFSCar, also focusing on fossil bite marks. Her research is linked to the Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoichnology (LPP) at UFSCar and is supervised by Prof. Dr. Marcelo Adorna Fernandes with co-supervision by Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi.

Masinissa Rasaona, ME

Masinissa holds a Bachelor's degree in Geosciences and a Master's degree in Vertebrate Paleontology from the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in biological sciences at the Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Felipe Lima Pinheiro and the co-supervision of Dr. Tito Aureliano. Masinissa is dedicated to studying Archosauromorpha from the Triassic period and is interested in paleohistology.

Undergraduate Students

Matheus Pinheiro dos Santos da Rocha

Matheus is a Biological Sciences undergratuated student at UFRN and has been a member of the Paleontology Sector at the Câmara Cascudo Museum (MCC) since 2019. There, he contributes to the description, organization, and maintenance of fossils in the Vertebrate Collection from the Potiguar Basin, as well as to the outreach project, "Ciência Andante" (Mobile Science). Matheus is also part of the MCC's Educational and Cultural Action Sector as a mediation fellow, developing educational activities. His research interests include the paleobiology and systematics of fossil vertebrates. At DInO-Lab, he studies theropod dinosaur teeth.

Pedro Fernandez Guedes

Pedro is a Biological Sciences undergraduate student at UFRN. His research interests include vertebrate paleontology, with a focus on taphonomy and paleoichnology. He is currently conducting studies on bioerosion in vertebrate bones at DInO-Lab.

Nathália Maria Stoppa

She is an undergraduate student of Biological Sciences at UFRN. She held a scientific initiation scholarship at TCCE ICMBio/Vale for the project 'Exploring the Caves of Rio Grande do Norte': Conservation, Research and Dissemination of Speleological Heritage' at the Câmara Cascudo Museum/UFRN. She also has a degree in Psychology from the Nossa Senhora do Patrocínio University Centre (CEUNSP) (2017–2021) and carried out research projects as a Scientific Initiation Fellow through the Institutional Programme for Initiation into Scientific Production, Teaching and Extension (PROPEX) from 2019 to 2021.

Pedro Artur Freitas da Silva

Pedro is an Geology undergraduate student at UFRN who is interested in stratigraphy and vertebrate paleontology. He was a fellow at DInO-Lab through the "Education, Dissemination, and Preservation of the Paleontological Heritage of Sousa, Paraíba" extension project.

João Victor Araújo de Oliveira

João Victor is a Geology undergraduate student at UFRN, has experience in paleontology and has worked on outreach projects. He is currently a scientific initiation scholarship holderat UFRN, where he is conducting research on ichnofossils from the Potiguar Basin.

Davi Gomes da Silva Bezerra

Davi is a Geology undergraduate student from UFRN who is interested in geodiversity and geoconservation. In 2025, he studied megafauna fossils in the Seridó Geopark region.

Cauan Sucar

Cauan is a Biological Sciences undergraduated student in in UFRN, he researches polychaete fossils from the Jandaíra Formation, with a focus on serpulids and their ecological interactions.

“In the benthos that would one day become the Jandaíra Formation, there were small polychaetes of the Serpulidae family.”

Associate Researchers

Tito Aureliano, DSc

Bachelor's degree in Geology from UFPE (2017), Master's degree (2020), and Doctor in Science from Unicamp (2023). He is currently conducting postdoctoral research in the Department of Zoology at URCA. He is an associate researcher at DINOlab, where he helps co-supervise several students. He is also an associate researcher at the Natural History Society of Portugal (SHN) and is part of research groups linked to the Paleoecology and Paleoichnology Laboratory at UFSCar and the Institute of Geosciences at Unicamp. His research focuses on the petrography and paleohistology of fossils, particularly aspects of the paleobiology of dinosaurs and other tetrapods.

Patrick Godoi, ME

Patrick has a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences and Mathematics from UFMT. He also has a Master's degree in Natural Sciences and Mathematics Education from PPGECM-UFMT. He developed his dissertation on the use of Paleontology in Mathematics Education. He did this under the co-supervision of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi. He worked as a multimedia teaching technician in the municipal school system of Sinop, Mato Grosso, as a substitute teacher at the UFMT Sinop Campus in 2017 and 2019, and as a teacher in the State and Municipal school systems of Mato Grosso and Lucas do Rio Verde and Sorriso. Currently, he is a teacher at Maria de Fátima State School in Sinop, MT.

Gabriel Leandro Gomes, DSc

Gabriel has a Bachelor in Biological Sciences from UNEB/DEDC (2018) and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Program in Experimental Physiopathology at the USP School of Medicine. He conducts research in comparative and descriptive anatomy (macro- and microarchitecture) and bioaccumulation, with an emphasis on the skeletal system of odontocete cetaceans. Gabriel has experience with marine wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, including dolphins, whales, and manatees. He is also a researcher at the Amares Institute, where he develops activities focused on conserving marine wildlife on the Amazonian Equatorial Coast of Maranhão. Gabriel is currently a Level IV Technical Training Fellow for the MastoDigita project at the USP Museum of Zoology, funded by FAPESP. He is also part of the team at the Laboratory of Environmental and Experimental Pathology (LPAE-LIM05/HC-FMUSP) at the Hospital das Clínicas and is affiliated with DInO-Lab under the co-supervision of Dr. Tito Aureliano and with the support of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi.

Beatriz Marinho Hörmanseder, DSc

Paleontologist, Science Communicator, and 3D Artist, identifying as non-binary (pronouns: she/her). PhD in Animal Biology from UFES, Master's in Geopaleontological Heritage from the National Museum/UFRJ, and Bachelor's in Biological Sciences from UNIRIO. Conducts research on the functional morphology and paleobiology of extinct vertebrates, focusing on three-dimensional methodologies applied to the digitization, retrodeformation, and digital preservation of fossils. As a science communicator, she produces accessible content on Biology and Paleontology on social media (@bhor3d), in addition to actively participating in academic and science outreach events as a speaker and course instructor. She also works as a 3D artist, digitizing and modeling scientifically accurate specimens for academic, educational, exhibition, and artistic purposes, promoting dialogue between science and art.

Former Members

Rebecca Fernandes Erickson, ME

Rebecca received a degree in Biological Sciences and Visual Arts from UFRN. She obtained a sandwich scholarship through the Science Without Borders program and received a certificate. H.E. in Fine Arts from the University of Derby in the United Kingdom. She earned a Master of Science in Earth Sciences with a concentration in Geodynamics from PPGG-UFRN. There, she studied Crocodylomorpha fossil traces under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Aline M. Ghilardi. She is interested in paleobiology, illustration, visual communication, science education, and curating scientific collections.

Paloma Barbalho da Cunha Macedo

She is a Geology Technician from the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology (DIAREN/IFRN, 2018) and a Geology graduate from UFRN (2024). She served as General Coordinator of the Academic Center for Geology at UFRN (2021-2022) and has an interest in Paleoichnology, Sequence Stratigraphy, and Marine Geology.

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