In the mid-1970s, when research on genetics flourished in Brazil and brought unprecedented information about the functioning of organisms, physicist Suely Lopes Gomes ventured into studies on fungi and bacteria. The projects born from this choice would earn the researcher a career spanning nearly half a century, with highlights in areas such as biochemistry and molecular biology, and would serve as inspiration for an entire generation of scientists – whether directly, through the dozens of students she helped train, or indirectly, through initiatives and scientific exchanges she led. Retired since December 2022, Suely Gomes and her contributions continue to bear fruit in the fields she worked in, keeping her legacy alive, current, and increasingly present in Brazilian science.  

Suely Gomes began her academic journey during her undergraduate studies, with projects focused on nuclear physics. Years later, already graduated and living abroad, she rediscovered an old passion born in high school at the intersection of physics and biology: genetics. “When I arrived at the University of Pittsburgh in the United States for my master’s degree, I learned about a multidisciplinary department that combined biophysics and microbiology, and I requested to be transferred to that department; I was fascinated,” recalls the researcher, who soon began working with bacteria and defended her master’s thesis on the model species Escherichia coli. At that time, molecular biology was still in its infancy in Brazil. Upon returning to the country, Suely Gomes joined the Department of Biochemistry at the IQ-USP, where she began sharing and expanding the knowledge she had acquired during her travels.  

With a curious and dedicated profile, during her doctorate, the researcher immersed herself in the study of the fungus Blastocladiella emersonii, a completely new topic for her. However, a postdoctoral fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the United States brought her back to the world of bacteria – this time, with the species Caulobacter crescentus. Thus, the two main research models that would accompany Suely Gomes for nearly 50 years and help train 21 doctors, 5 masters, and 17 postdocs, all mentored or supervised by her, were established. “I couldn’t let go of either organism; I was interested in both,” she comments.

Scientific and technological advances for global science

By combining her two main interests, Suely Gomes established herself as a leading researcher in the field of gene expression regulation in microorganisms. There, she was jointly responsible for the creation of the Radioactive Nucleotide Triphosphate Synthesis Service for the Genetic Engineering Program (PRONAB), an initiative that took place in the mid-1980s and contributed to major advances in the national scientific community. After serving as Secretary of the Brazilian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SBBq) between 1988 and 1990, she received the title of Full Professor at IQ in 1997 and, in 2000, began to skillfully and proactively head the Department of Biochemistry at the Institute.  

Concurrently with her prominent positions, Suely also participated in the organization and implementation of the DNA Sequencing Service at IQ, a pioneering initiative for which she was responsible until 2017. “It was a departmental service that supported both the USP community and many people from outside the university,” explains Regina Baldini, a former student and colleague of Suely Gomes. The implementation of the platform arose from the need to advance the projects Suely  was involved in. Among them, sequencing of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa by the Brazilian Genome Project, which resulted in the determination of the first genome of a plant pathogen in the world and was an important milestone in the country’s scientific advancement. The researcher was part of a select group of scientists, alongside names such as Aline Maria da Silva and Marilis Marques. “I remember that she was always an extremely available person, very serious, and very dedicated,” recounts Marilis Marques, also a former student of Suely Gomes.  

In addition to directly contributing to positioning USP and, more broadly, Brazil as a highlight in genetics research, the creation of the DNA Sequencing Service also helped strengthen the University and was part of many other projects developed there. “This brought many resources to the department, as it was one of the first systems of its kind to become available,” emphasizes Regina Baldini. Suely Gomes’ motivated and organized management allowed the service to consolidate and remain operational over the decades. Today, it is still available under the responsibility of IQ’s Analytical Center and serves both USP users and researchers from other research institutions.

Basic and applied research as drivers of scientific and societal progress

The work carried out during the sequencing of Xylella fastidiosa and the equpment installed in the department brought the necessary tools for Suely Gomes’ team, already well-established in the 2010s, to also analyze the genome of the fungus Blastocladiella emersonii, also studied by the researcher. This work, which was part of the doctoral thesis of student Gabriela Mól Avelar, resulted in the discovery of a protein responsible for the perception and response of this fungus to light, allowing it to swim precisely toward light in an early phase of its life cycle.  

Despite being centered on a fungal model, the analyses uncovered striking similarities with human mechanisms, leading to unexpected implications. The group revealed that the fungus’s visual perception uses components also present in vertebrate vision, such as rhodopsin – which acts as a light sensor – and the cyclic GMP second messenger – linked to signaling processes. “No one had described the fusion we found between rhodopsin and guanylate cyclase,” highlights Suely Gomes. “Because of this work, a professor from Germany contacted her and developed a type of sensor that uses a modification of this protein to produce cyclic GMP in response to light in mammalian cells,” comments Regina Baldini.

“It was science for science’s sake, not just to develop a drug.”

For her, her work and the discoveries stemming from it are just one of many examples of how so-called basic research – that aimed at advancing knowledge, without the immediate need for practical applications – also plays a fundamental role in scientific progress. “Doing applied research is very important, of course, but there also needs to be space to study organisms because they are interesting or because they have characteristics that haven’t been well described yet,” she states. “Sometimes, in a microorganism that isn’t pathogenic at all, you find a gene that can be used in a mammalian cell to investigate the role of cyclic GMP, for example,” points out the researcher, citing the work led by Gabriela Avelar. It was in this way, for example, that the fungus’s protein contributed to the field of Optogenetics, which deals with the development of tools combining genetics and bioengineering in studies involving neural circuits of specific cells.  

Suely Gomes also emphasizes that the differences between the contexts of scientific research in the past and present may mean that non-pathogenic organisms, such as the fungus Blastocladiella and the bacterium Caulobacter, may be less encouraged in the near future. “I feel lucky because I was working during a period when I could choose the study organism without worrying about whether it caused disease or not. It was science for science’s sake, not just to develop a drug,” she explains. “Today, we end up being, in a way, pressured by funding agencies to do more applied research. Then comes the question: ‘But why study this organism, does it cause any disease?’ No, it doesn’t. And that can already become an obstacle,” she adds.

Put down roots at USP and scattered seeds around the world

Over five decades of dedication, Suely Gomes crossed paths with hundreds of colleagues and collaborators. Marilis Marques, the first graduate student she supervised, recalls details of daily life alongside the researcher – before, during, and after they worked together on the Xylella project. “The seriousness, responsibility, posture, and confidence in the results are some of the things that marked me the most. She always set a good example of scientific conduct, and that is extremely important,” says the researcher, who now leads studies on Caulobacter crescentus at the Laboratory of Bacterial Physiology and Genetics at the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB) at USP.  

At the IQ, Regina Baldini inherited the facilities of the Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation in Microorganisms, previously led by Suely Gomes. “It’s a very big responsibility. She was always very responsible and competent, the lab was always very well equipped, and she took care of everything,” she says. “We have centrifuges that are over 30 years old and still working perfectly, our benches are still from her time here… We have the responsibility to maintain this legacy,” adds the researcher, who also points out that the calm atmosphere in Suely Gomes’ lab and the interactions among group members were very important in her academic trajectory.  

Outside USP, the seeds planted by Suely Gomes also sprouted. She was part of the training of researchers and professors who now hold prominent positions at major national and international institutions, such as Julio Cezar Franco de Oliveira and Rogério Ferreira Lourenço, professors at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp), and Cristina Elisa Alvarez Martinez, a professor at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp). Some of her students also built careers outside Brazil, in countries such as Argentina (for example, Flávio Junqueira de Souza, at the University of Buenos Aires, and Karina Fabiana Ribichich, at the University of Santa Fe) and Germany (such as Christian Kohler, at the University of Greifswald), spreading the influence of her working style globally. “Each one followed their own path and built their career. We contributed back then, right? “It began as a small seed we planted, but it flourished through their efforts”, emphasizes Suely Gomes.

The fruits of Suely’s legacy: influence and inspiration

During her time at IQ-USP, Suely Gomes organized and promoted seminars among different groups in the department, as well as researchers and students from ICB. The proposal aimed to stimulate an integrated and interactive environment, in addition to enabling interdisciplinary exchanges among participants. “We had a rotating schedule with different presentations each week,” recalls Suely Gomes, who goes on to highlight the benefits of these meetings: “It was a very valuable experience for the students – not only to encourage integration and collaboration, but also for their personal development, as they had to invest significant effort in preparing to present their own work.”

Shaker Chuck Farah, current vice-director of IQ-USP, participated in these meetings from the first editions, when he was newly hired at IQ. “In these meetings, the groups always tried to help each other, but everything happened in a very informal way. From time to time, the idea of doing a joint project would come up, but we thought we weren’t ready yet or that it wasn’t the right time,” he recalls. The scenario changed in mid-2021, when, after the Covid-19 pandemic, an idea emerged that would bring together the partnerships established in these meetings into a promising and large-scale project, the Center for Research in Biology of Bacteria and Bacteriophages (CEPID B3).  

“We were starting to return to in-person activities when a call from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, FAPESP, came out for the submission of projects for Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Centers, the CEPIDs, in the biological area,” says Chuck Farah. “We felt that, at that moment, we were mature enough for this,” he says. The project has been underway since 2023 and, according to Chuck Farah, director of CEPID B3, was largely driven by Suely Gomes. “Without that group that met for so many years, maybe this project wouldn’t even exist; most of those involved had some connection with her: they were former students, former collaborators, or even students of former students,” he argues, adding that the researcher is “an inspiring source, both for her scientific legacy and for her role in training and bringing the community together.” The seminar model proposed by Suely is followed weekly by members of the 21 laboratories linked to CEPID B3. 

“It began as a small seed we planted, but it flourished through their efforts.”

Suely Gomes’ remarkable trajectory – her role in the creation of CEPID B3 and her lasting influence on the careers of those who crossed paths with her – demonstrates that science is built not only on data and discoveries, but also on human relationships, generosity, and genuine curiosity. Her contributions transcended the boundaries of the laboratory and continue to resonate, even after her retirement: in every researcher she helped train, in every project she helped shape, and in every idea she inspired. Suely Gomes embodies the strength and value of science carried out with passion, vision, and a deep commitment to knowledge. The garden she cultivated over decades continues to flourish – diverse, fertile, and essential to the ecosystem of Brazilian science.