The student Mayllon Emanuel Pequeno Santos Silva, who completed his undergraduate degree in Science and Technology at Ilum School of Science at the end of 2025, was ranked first in the selective process for the Doctoral Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology at Unicamp. This achievement stands out and highlights the quality of the academic training and the integration with the scientific environment that Ilum provides, through continuous exposure to cutting-edge research conducted at CNPEM.
Direct admission to the doctoral program was motivated by early immersion in research, made possible by Ilum’s curricular structure and by constant interaction with CNPEM’s scientific staff. Throughout his academic trajectory, Mayllon worked at the Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory.(LNBR) under the supervision of researcher Gabriela Persinoti, an experience that proved decisive for both his choice of field and his preparation for the selection process.
“It was an extreme happiness. I truly didn’t expect it, precisely because I was aware that I was competing with people who had studied for six years—four in undergraduate studies and two in a master’s program—and all in a single field, biology. At Ilum, I studied for three years, with an extremely strong foundation in biology and bioinformatics, but also with attention to physics, chemistry, data science, and the humanities. It was perhaps the best day of my life when I received the news of my acceptance.”
The result achieved in the selection process—which combines theoretical questions, analysis of a scientific article, and curriculum evaluation—reflected the multidisciplinary foundation of his education. With a score of 9.83, the Ilum graduate secured first place among all candidates to the program. Mayllon emphasizes the importance of the courses taken in the sixth and final semester: “They were extremely necessary and essential for my approval, because the exam was exactly an intersection between these two areas”—referring to the classes in advanced topics in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics Algorithms.
The student’s performance and dedication are a direct result of the engagement of Ilum’s entire faculty, which integrates Life Sciences, Humanities, Mathematical Language, Material Sciences, and Data Science in a cohesive manner, promoting a solid, critical, and contextualized scientific education. Added to this is the constant interaction with CNPEM researchers and scientific infrastructure, which exposes students—since the beginning of their undergraduate studies—to real-world problems whose solutions lie at the frontier of knowledge. This formative environment, based on scientific rigor, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary exchange, creates the conditions for talents to fully develop and achieve prominent positions in highly competitive programs,” said Leandro Nascimento Lemos, Ilum professor, PhD in Bioinformatics and Microbial Ecology, and Mayllon’s undergraduate advisor.
The doctoral research will be conducted in the area of enzyme bioprospecting, with a focus on microorganisms capable of generating new biofuels, biochemicals, and biorenewable energies—a direct continuation of his work at LNBR. The PhD will be carried out at the interface between Unicamp and CNPEM, allowing the student to continue working in the laboratory where he began his scientific career.
About the Ilum School of Science
Ilum offers a free undergraduate degree program that utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to train scientists and professionals in science and technology. With an innovative educational model, the three-year full-time bachelor program offers courses that connect life sciences, materials science, data science, artificial intelligence, and the humanities in order to prepare researchers to work in an ethical and collaborative manner in the search for solutions to the global challenges of the twenty-first century. The Ilum School of Science is funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and is part of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo, a social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI). Ilum’s educational mission offers early contact with experimental activities, in teaching labs at the school as well as at CNPEM, in projects carried out together with researchers.
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM’s research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC).
