L. Felipe Benites

For details about my education and professional experience you can access my CV here.

My story starts in the small town of Guaíba, in the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil. Ever since I was young, I was in love with three main things: dinosaurs, stars and aliens. However during my teenage years, I dreamed of becoming a rock star, and just later, I decided that what I wanted was to become a biologist.

In Biology, my academic journey began at UNISINOS University in São Leopoldo city, at my home state, where I worked on insect-bacteria symbiosis and started sharing my passion for science through blogging, podcasting, and public lectures. For my Master’s degree, I moved to Rio de Janeiro, where I started working on viral symbiosis and algae evolution in the UFRJ university—a significant moment in my career. This experience led me to the south of France to work in the  Observatoire océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer at the shores of the Mediterranean, where I pursued a PhD and deepened my studies on algal viruses and the genomic evolution of algae.

In 2021, I moved to the United States, supported by the NASA Postdoctoral Program. At the Rutgers University, I worked on gene transfer between cells and viruses and studied extreme viruses from Yellowstone National Park. In the same year, I wrote and collectively published my debut book—a children’s sci-fi story exploring themes of alien life and the future of our planet—titled in Portuguese, “Alie e as criaturas da floresta alienígena.”

Currently, I am a postdoc in Walker’s group at Arizona State University, studying the origins of viral complexity and their planetary-level roles. Additionally, I am investigating general properties of cellular, viral, and potentially alien life through computational and theoretical approaches.

In my writing career, I still plan to publish an English version of my children’s sci-fi book, finish a second children’s book, and write a popular science book on the natural history of viruses. My musical interests remain active though, where I am currently recording experimental original scores for science short films and documentaries.

– May 2024.