At 40 years old, Brazilian Alexandre Antonelli was appointed last October to the position of Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the United Kingdom, considered the largest botanical garden in the world. He will assume the role in February 2019.
Antonelli began his degree in Biological Sciences at Unicamp in 1996, but finished the course in Europe. For his doctorate, the new director returned to Unicamp and took courses at the Biology Institute and obtained formal and logistical support to carry out plant collection work in various parts of the country, such as Amazonas, the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado areas.
The strengthening of relations with Unicamp continued when he took up a professorship at the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden. “I received several doctoral students for internships here in my laboratory and I still maintain collaborations with several IB professors”, says Antonelli.
In an interview with the Unicamp Portal, he talks about his career and reveals what his expectations are for his newest challenge.
Unicamp website – What is the course and in what year did you graduate from Unicamp?
Alexandre Antonelli – I studied Biological Sciences at night for one semester, in 1996. I stopped enrolling for a year so I could study French in France. I restarted my degree in Biology in Sweden in 2001.
PU - What do you believe was important in your graduation for you to continue your academic career?
Alexandre – It was fieldwork, where I came into contact for the first time with researchers and doctoral students absorbed in scientific research. I volunteered for a project in northern Sweden in 2003, traveling by helicopter to several mountains in Lapland to document and measure vegetation and how it would be affected by climate change. It was then that I understood that it was possible to reconcile my great personal interest in being in nature, with paid work that is highly relevant to society and the planet. Becoming a researcher became a dream that soon came true.
PU – How was your transfer to the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden? How did you get there?
Alexandre – I arrived in Gothenburg for personal reasons. I was living in Honduras and working as a diver in the Caribbean, when I met a Swedish girl, who would later become my wife. The main reason was knowing that Gothenburg had a great line of research into the flora of South America, and I was very excited to continue this work.
PU – After leaving Unicamp, did you have or do you have any contact with professors and researchers here?
Alexandre – I have always maintained very active contact with Unicamp, especially the Institute of Biology (Department of Plant Biology). During my doctorate in Sweden, this contact was extremely valuable, as I took courses there and obtained formal and logistical support to be able to carry out plant collection work in various parts of the country, such as Amazonas, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. I have already received several doctoral students for internships here in my laboratory, and I still maintain collaborations with several professors, mainly Professor André Olmos Simões and Professor Maria Fernanda Calió.
PU – Give a brief summary of your academic career?
Alexandre – I completed a PhD in Biology from 2003-2008 at the University of Gothenburg; Postdoc 2009-2010 at the University of Zurich; Scientific curator at Gothenburg Botanical Gardens 2010–2019; Researcher at the University of Gothenburg 2011– to date (Free Professor in 2015); Founder and Director of the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Center 2017–2019; Visiting Professor at Harvard University January-July 2018.
PU – Talk about how you feel about the appointment and give a brief summary of your future projects and what you intend to develop at Kew Garden.
Alexandre – I'm super excited about the role, it will be an immense honor and responsibility to lead Kew's research and scientific collections! I also hope to develop professionally and personally. I haven't taken on the role yet, and it's too early to know what future projects I will try to launch. A priority is to consolidate the scientific strategy plans published for the years 2015-2020 and create a new strategy for the years 2020-2025. Something I would really like to start soon is a project to create images for all species cultivated or preserved at Kew, linked directly to artificial intelligence algorithms for the automatic recognition of plant and fungal species, involving the participation of citizens in this process .
PU – Talk about Kew Garden and its global importance.
Alexandre – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is the largest botanical garden in the world. It has more than a thousand employees, of which more than 300 are scientists or associated with research. During its almost 260 years of existence, this institution has accumulated the largest collection of plants and fungi in the world. Kew leads botanical and fungal research across many areas, with strong international collaborations involving more than 110 countries. Brazil, as the country with the highest biodiversity in the world, has excellent collaborations with Kew and I hope to be able to strengthen this even further during my mandate.
