In the Spotlight—Established Researcher

Rodrigo Nunes-da-Fonseca is an Affiliate Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. He is also a scientist at our state (FAPERJ) in Rio de Janeiro and a CNPq researcher in the genetics of Brazil. Rodrigo is a recipient of an NRW PhD Scholarship (Germany), a DAAD Short-Visit Fellowship, and a Coimbra Group Scholarship. Rodrigo Nunes-da-Fonseca is a guest coeditor of this special issue on the Evo-Devo of Zygotic Genome Activation. He is also an Editorial Board Member of JEZ-B. Lab Website: https://nunesdafonsecalab.com Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=D7UZlIcAAAAJ I earned my Bachelor's in Biomedical Sciences (2001) and a Master's in Biochemistry (2004) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, studying homeobox genes in sponges under Cristiano Coutinho and Radovan Borojevic. My desire to explore evolutionary developmental biology led me to Germany, where I pursued a PhD in Genetics and Functional Genomics at the University of Cologne under Siegfried Roth. There, I investigated dorsoventral patterning in the beetle Tribolium castaneum, while immersed in what was arguably the global epicenter of Arthropod Evo-Devo at the time—alongside scholars like Diethard Tautz, Wim Damen, Allistair McGregor, Kristen Panfilio, Jeremy Lynch, Maurijn van der Zee, and others. The intricate beauty of development and the astonishing diversity of animals fascinated me from an early age. In 1998, a lecture on Hox genes changed everything. I soon began attending Evo-Devo meetings and interacting with pioneers like Nipam Patel and José Campos-Ortega. Although I initially worked with sponges, I realized the need for more tractable models and transitioned to arthropods—a decision that shaped the rest of my career. I was raised in a low-income urban area in Rio de Janeiro, studied in public schools, and became the first in my family to pursue higher education—and the only one with a PhD Today, I'm thrilled to mentor students from similar backgrounds and to bring cutting-edge developmental biology to underrepresented groups and nonmodel organisms in Latin America. I'm particularly proud of pioneering Evo-Devo research in species of economic and public health relevance in the Global South—including Rhipicephalus microplus (ticks), Rhodnius prolixus (Chagas disease vector), Aedes aegypti (dengue, Zika), and Simulium pertinax (black flies). These are challenging models, but they bring Evo-Devo closer to real-world applications and public engagement in Latin America. Another rewarding moment was applying my collaborative mindset to combat COVID-19 in my hometown. My team and I set up local diagnostic capacity and contributed to genomic surveillance in partnership with regional health authorities. This experience reaffirmed my belief that network-based collaboration is a skill every young scientist should master—especially in times of crisis. Evo-Devo is now entering a transformative phase. Environmental plasticity, epigenetics, and climate resilience are becoming central. I encourage early-career researchers to be bold: integrate field biology, high-throughput genomics, and systems thinking. Work with neglected species. Build bridges across disciplines. Also, remember that scientific excellence can emerge anywhere, even without fancy infrastructure. What matters is curiosity, creativity, and a collaborative spirit. Stay fearless. Stay connected. And never forget the power of science to transform not only knowledge—but lives. When I joined NUPEM-UFRJ in 2009, there was no lab space—only one spectrophotometer and a single incubator. I started with a simple study on glucose content in beetle eggs and published from there. Over 15 years, through relentless grant writing, collaboration, and community building, we now have a well-equipped lab with advanced microscopes and DNA sequencers. Doing science in Latin America often means navigating bureaucratic bottlenecks, underfunding, and supply chain delays. But despite these systemic challenges, we've published, trained scientists, and advanced Evo-Devo in nontraditional models. That's the power of persistence—and teamwork. Let's keep moving. The Article Processing Charge for the publication of this research was funded by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) (ROR identifier: 00x0ma614).