Professor Ana Maria da Costa Ferreira, from the Instituto de Química at the University of São Paulo (IQ-USP) and a member of the Redoxoma Research Center, is the recipient of the 2025 Rheinboldt-Hauptmann Award, granted annually to researchers who stand out for the excellence of their scientific and academic contributions in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry.

At the award ceremony, Professor Shaker Chuck Farah, Vice Director of IQ-USP acting as Director, highlighted that since the award was created in 1987, 35 Rheinboldt-Hauptmann Awards have been granted, 16 of which to IQ-USP researchers, “forming a very special and select group in the history of the Institute and in the Brazilian scientific community.” The honoree was presented by Professor Emeritus Henrique Eisi Toma, who gave a retrospective of more than fifty years of academic and scientific collaboration. The event brought together faculty members, staff, students, alumni, and guests.

In her lecture, entitled “Designing Molecules with Biological Activity,” Ana Maria emphasized the importance of the connections and collaborations that have shaped her scientific path. “Science is a continuous mechanism: you build on what came before, and your work serves as a foundation for those who come after. Together, we go further.”

She recalled that during her graduate studies, she developed a background that integrated different areas of chemistry. She began her PhD under the supervision of Professor Pawel Krumholz in the field of coordination chemistry and, after his passing, continued her work with Professor José Manuel Riveros, focusing on spectroscopic methods and chemical kinetics. With the support of Professor Giuseppe Cilento, she became interested in the study of reactive oxygen species, a field more closely related to biochemistry. “I was always walking a tightrope between the two departments, ever since I was very young,” she recalled. This experience marked the beginning of a career characterized by the integration between coordination chemistry and biochemistry.

Academic background and scientific contributions

Ana Maria earned her degree in chemistry from IQ-USP in 1971 and her PhD in physical chemistry from the same institution in 1976. She conducted postdoctoral research at the Università di Roma Tor Vergata (Italy) in biological chemistry and at the State University of New York at Albany (USA), with a focus on electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. She has been a full professor at IQ-USP since 2002.

Her interest in the interface between coordination chemistry and biochemistry has guided her research on reactive species and biologically relevant metal systems. Ana Maria has been engaged in the development of new metallodrugs -metal-based compounds with therapeutic potential, including antitumor and antiparasitic activities- a promising area in the fight against cancer and neglected diseases. The innovative character of her scientific work is reflected in several patents, including the metallic complexes and the redox reactor developed by her group.

Among the most significant outcomes of her research is precisely this redox reactor, designed for treating industrial effluents and already implemented in a petrochemical company specializing in lubricating oil re-refining.

Her career is also marked by strong engagement with scientific organizations and by broad recognition of her contributions to Brazilian chemistry. Ana Maria is an active member of the Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ), the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), and the Regional Chemistry Council – 4th Region (CRQ-IV), where she serves as a council member. She was awarded the National Order of Scientific Merit in 2007; received the Ícaro S. Moreira Medal from the Inorganic Chemistry Division of the Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ) in 2009; and, in May 2022, was honored with the Simão Mathias Medal, also from the SBQ.

At the same time, she has dedicated herself to education and the dissemination of chemical knowledge through reference publications. She is co-author of “Nomenclatura básica de química inorgânica: adaptação simplificada, atualizada e comentada das regras da IUPAC para a língua portuguesa” (Basic Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry: Simplified, Updated, and Annotated Adaptation of IUPAC Rules to Portuguese), written in collaboration with Henrique E. Toma, Ana Maria G. Massabni, and Antonio Carlos Massabni. In partnership with Toma, she also authored “Química de Coordenação — Uma Abordagem Experimental” (Coordination Chemistry — An Experimental Approach), published by Edusp under the Textbook Production Incentive Program (PIPLDE).

The Rheinboldt-Hauptmann Award, received by Ana Maria da Costa Ferreira, honors Professors Heinrich Rheinboldt and Heinrich Hauptmann, German chemists who founded the Department of Chemistry of the former Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters at USP, the nucleus from which the current Institute of Chemistry and its two departments were established.