My research concentrates on understanding the biodiversity of sea stars and the role they play in the oceans. Along with my fifteen years of research experience, I have also worked as an assistant collection manager at many natural history museums around Brazil and the world, and I have an extensive background in the organization, preservation, and digitization of scientific collections. I got my BS and my Teacher Licensure in Biological Sciences at the Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil (UFBA) with an exchange period at the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), New Jersey, USA, and my MS at the Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo (MZUSP) with an exchange period at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (NMNH), Washington D.C., USA.