Dr. José C. J. M. D. S. Menezes completed his Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from Goa University, India in 2009,  focused on synthesis and characterization of natural flavonoids, coumarins, indanones, flavans, and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives by using various spectroscopic techniques. Subsequently, he carried out the post-doctoral projects with Prof. J.A.S. Cavaleiro in the Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Portugal on the synthesis of natural and synthetic porphyrins, chlorin e6, and protoporphyrin-IX and studied their photophysical properties for applications in photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancers. Later, at Nagasaki International University in Sasebo, Japan, the post-doc funded by Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science (“C-FINDs”), formerly known as Tokyo Biochemical Research Foundation with Prof. Hideaki Fujita in Biochemistry, enabled him to screen several natural compounds for modulating effects on host restriction factors (HRFs) like BST-2 and MARCH8 for anti-viral therapy. He has published ~ 30 papers and reviews in international scientific journals and holds 1 US patent application. Since 2018, he has worked at Esteem Industries, an R&D laboratory specialized in surfactant and allied chemical development and manufacturing based in Goa, India with the current role of Associate-General Manager— New Technologies.

Dr. Vinicius Rangel Campos obtained his Chemistry degree from the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) in 2009. He finished his MSc in Chemistry in 2011 and his PhD in Chemistry in 2015 at Universidade Federal Fluminense, oriented by Prof. Anna Claudia Cunha and Prof. Vitor Francisco Ferreira. During his PhD in Chemistry, he had the opportunity to participate in the interuniversity exchange doctorate program at Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal) in the group of Professor J. A. S. Cavaleiro (2012). In 2015, he received a postdoctoral fellowship from funding agency FAPERJ to carry out research in the group of Professor Jerson Lima Silva at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Since 2016, he has been an adjunct professor and researcher in the Organic Chemistry Department at Universidade Federal Fluminense. He currently coordinates the Heterocycle Synthesis Laboratory (LASINTHET), and some of his research experiences and skills are centered in the design, synthesis, and spectroscopic characterization of nitrogen and other heterocycles such as quinone, 1,2,3-triazoles, isoquinolines, dihidropirimidinones, carbohydrates, etc., with potential biological and technological applications (antiviral, anticancer, antibacterial, anti-corrosion, and anti-fouling). Through his research interest on the design and synthesis of new bioactive compounds, he has published ~ 35 papers and review articles in International journals with an h-index of 12.