Biographical note

Dr. João Batista Teixeira da Rocha is a biochemistry professor at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Brazil. He earned his PhD in 1996 and has since focused on studying how certain chemicals interact with our bodies. His research, spanning over 750 scientific papers, explores the toxicity and potential benefits of simple organoselenium compounds. Rocha's work helps us understand how these compounds affect our health and could lead to new treatments.

Dr. Michael Aschner's research and expertise are in the field of neurobiology and physiology of astrocytes. For the past 30 years, he has focused on how metals like mercury, manganese, and uranium enter and move around in our brains, causing damage. Using different models like worms, cells, and mice, his lab explores brain mechanisms. Dr. Aschner is a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, with over 1000 scientific papers and 100 book chapters.

Dr. Pablo Andrei Nogara is a chemist with expertise in biochemistry. He obtained his degrees at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Brazil, focusing on organic chemistry and computational methods. Currently, he is a professor at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology Sul-rio-grandense (IFSul). Nogara's research explores the biological effects of mercury and selenium, particularly their interactions with thio- and selenoproteins, applying advanced computational techniques like docking simulations, ADMET properties, and quantum chemistry calculations.