The PPPG-GBM is the only one around genetics in the Metropolitan Region of Londrina, which is composed of 25 municipalities and has an estimated 1.2 million inhabitants. This is a highly developed region, with a high HDI (0.813) and a diversified economy. The areas of higher education, health, and agribusiness that run the economy are directly served by our PPG. In the metropolitan region, there are two public universities (UEL and UTFPr), two research institutes (EMBRAPA-Soja and IDR-PR), in addition to nine other private universities and private research institutes. When we look at the productive sector, Londrina makes up one of the richest microregions in the country, with hundreds of medium and large rural properties and a high number of service companies linked to health and agribusiness, to which many of our graduates migrate. Our PPG in Genetics and Molecular Biology is of fundamental importance to meet the demand for personnel, knowledge and technology generation, service provision, and regional development.
The PPG faculty members have formal and informal collaborations with different universities and research institutes in Brazil and abroad. These include basic and applied projects along the lines of Molecular Biology and Genomics (involving soybean, coffee, silkworm, and bioinsecticide production), Toxicological Genetics and Cancer (eco-health, animal and human health), and Genetic Diversity (cultivated and native species, microorganisms, animals, and plants).
The program has 15 professors in the permanent nucleus and 3 collaborators, who teach courses, provide MSc and Ph.D. advising, and publish in scientific journals. All of them have Ph.D. degrees, and some have post-doctoral degrees. Most of permanent professors has an exclusive dedication to the UEL, with attributions focused on teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In total, we have three researchers from EMBRAPA-Soja, one from EMBRAPA/Café, and one from the UTFPr. All permanent members are responsible for research projects, some with international collaboration, and present scientific production compatible with and adequate for the program area. Most of them is CNPq Productivity Scholarship holders. Below, the teaching staff appears organized by research fields, in which the teachers appear in more than one line. See Research Fields.