Mateus is a fifth-year medical student at the Catholic University of Paraná in the city of Curitiba, southern Brazil. In August he will be travelling to Rotterdam to attend a one-semester programme in research training in Health Sciences at NIHES-Erasmus MC. Mateus is one of several undergraduate students throughout Brazil to be awarded a Science without Borders scholarship.
Described by one of his professors as sociable, hard-working and a creative problem-solver, Mateus already has some research experience, having worked on a project studying the cardiovascular complications of kidney disease. This research in an experimental rat model has kindled an interest in cardiology and nephrology, but he is also looking forward to learning more about epidemiology and biostatistics.
The 25-year-old hopes that his visit to Rotterdam will equip him with broader knowledge and possibly provide him with contacts for his post-graduate career, during which he would like to combine teaching with scientific research. He is proud that he has been given this opportunity to study at a university of such reputation and recognition as Erasmus.
About Science without Borders – SwB
Science without Borders is a large-scale scholarship programme created and financed by the Brazilian government. It offers Brazilian top students the opportunity to study at a higher education institution in the Netherlands or to carry out research there. Grants are allocated at three levels: bachelors, PhD and post-doctoral.
About the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences – NIHES
The Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences (NIHES) is an alliance of leading Dutch universities and research institutes that collaborate on quantitative medical and health research. In our Master of Science programmes and short courses, we provide graduate and postgraduate research training in quantitative medicine and the health sciences. We have five core disciplines – Epidemiology, Clinical Epidemiology, Genetic Epidemiology, Public Health, and Medical Informatics – and four key partners: Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Amsterdam, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, and the Netherlands Cancer Institute.
Fernanda Mezzomo Collares is a 25 year old student from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
Gilson Gabriel Viana Veloso, a 22 year old fifth-year Medicine student at the Pythagoras College in the city of Montes Claros, southeastern Brazil.
Laura Pletsch Borba is a 22-year-old medical student, from Porto Alegre, Brazil. She attends Pontifical Catholic University from Rio Grande do Sul, situated in her hometown.