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Founded in 1845, Scientific American selected the researchers from hundreds of nominations submitted by scientists and research institutions from different countries. The magazine considered the relevance and impact of each candidate’s scientific contributions.
From birdwatching to neuroscience
Costa earned his bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) and discovered as a teenager that he wanted to pursue a scientific career. “At the age of 13, while I was still in high school, I received an award from the Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará for a project on migratory bird observation, and I thought, this is going to be my career.”
It was during his undergraduate studies that he first came into contact with neuroscience, developing an undergraduate research project on chemoreception in the nervous system. The project attracted considerable attention and was presented at the Brazilian Society of Physiology conference in Águas de Lindóia, where he had the opportunity to meet professor Benedito Honório Machado, from the Department of Physiology at FMRP. “The work impressed me greatly, both because of its scientific quality and because of the confidence demonstrated by that young researcher”, Machado recalled. According to him, it was at that meeting that Costa was invited to pursue his master’s degree at USP.
Training at FMRP
Under the supervision of Benedito Machado, Costa conducted research on the role of astrocytes in modulating the neural pathways of the chemoreflex and also collaborated on other projects in the laboratory, resulting in additional scientific publications.
According to his advisor, it was already clear that the researcher would pursue even greater challenges. “We realized that a master’s degree was an important first step in his training, but his ambitions called for a doctoral degree at one of the world’s leading neuroscience research centers. On his own initiative, he reached out to those groups and followed that path.”
Today, Costa investigates how dopamine participates in learning processes in response to new information. In an interview with Jornal da USP, the researcher explained that his studies seek to understand everything from how neurons function to the brain circuits responsible for shaping behavior. “In my laboratory, we are investigating which types of learning are mediated by dopamine and how the physiology of the neurons that produce this neurotransmitter controls these processes”, he explained.
International recognition
At the age of 36, Costa believed that the recognition highlights the importance of behavioral neuroscience and the contributions made by his research group. “I believe this is a sign that the scientific community recognizes the importance of behavioral neuroscience and that our contributions over the past few years have been well received.”
He also hoped the distinction would encourage other young people to pursue careers in research. “I hope this will serve as a catalyst to attract more young people to scientific careers, especially in behavioral neuroscience.”
For Benedito Machado, his former student’s career demonstrates that scientific talent knows no boundaries. “His trajectory clearly shows that, for young talents like Kauê, there are no borders or limits. At such a young age, he will certainly continue expanding his contributions to science.”
According to Costa, over the coming years his group intends to “deepen our understanding of how the brain selects and processes information during learning, and how interactions among proteins at the cellular level give rise to dopamine-mediated behaviors.”
* Intern under the supervision of Rose Talamone
English version: Nexus Traduções, edited by Denis Pacheco
