I gained a medical degree in 1995 at the Federal Fluminense University (UFF), in Brazil. I then became a resident in psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ, 1996-1998) before starting my research activities within the same institution. There, I created in 1998 the only clinic and research program dedicated to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in Rio de Janeiro. I also obtained my mastership (1998-2000) and PhD degrees (2000-2003) in psychiatry at the same institution and remained a staff psychiatrist there from 2002 to 2006, before becoming a faculty member.

I am a Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry of UFRJ, where I direct the Anxiety, Obsessive, and Compulsive Research Program. Since 2011, I also have an appointment as a Senior Researcher at D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), a private research institution that collaborates closely with our group at UFRJ. From 2015 to 2021 I was full Professor (level E) at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, in Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. In 2020, I became an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, also within Monash University. Since 2022, I am the vice-chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine of UFRJ.

My peers recognize me as a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of obsessive-compulsive, anxiety, and related disorders. My research involves the use of psychological (e.g., psychopathological and neurocognitive assessments) and biological strategies (including imaging, immunology and genetics) to increase the understanding of transdiagnostic constructs, including what has been recently described as “compulsivity”. At my laboratory, we attempt to “carve nature at its joints” by studying the neural and psychological links between OCD and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

I have authored more than 280 articles on pubmed (see below my most relevant and most recent research articles). My research has influenced mental health in many ways and led to increased public and professional awareness on these topics. Consequently, we have established the Rio de Janeiro team as one of the leading OCD research groups in Brazil and, to a certain extent, in the World. Currently, I have ~ 13,000 citations (Google h-index of 60). I also have given more than 50 lectures, often as a keynote speaker, both locally and internationally.

I am currently in charge of the Anxiety, Obsessions and Compulsions Research Program at the Institute of Psychiatry of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, a clinical and research program I personally established more than 20 years ago. The group now has more than 20 members, and involves medical and psychology undergraduates, residents, master and PhD students and clinical staff. I am proud of the collegial and collaborative atmosphere that I was able to encourage within the Program. Importantly, our research projects always involve a clinical component and data is continuously collected from our OCD clinic.

I have been the main supervisor of a total of 16 PhDs and more than 20 master students. I am happy to discuss secondary supervision of PhD students who want to pursue research on psychopathology and/or OCD and related disorders.