Maithe Rocha Monteiro de Barros

I am a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics focusing on single-cell sequencing-based assessment of gastric and esophageal cancer development, working with RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, and spatial transcriptomics data. Before joining IICD, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at New York University Langone Medical Center in the Department of Ophthalmology where I investigated the genetic mechanisms and biological pathways that lead to the pathogenesis of Keratoconus, a degenerative corneal disease.
I hold a PhD in Biological Sciences from Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom, but my academic journey started back in Brazil by getting my Bachelor’s Degree in Veterinary Medicine at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, where I worked for many years as an undergraduate research assistant in an animal pharmacology lab. It was my first real exposure to science and it showed me how impactful scientific discoveries can be.
I joined CUPS in 2025 and I serve as co-chair of the Outreach and Communications Committee, where I review and write blog posts about research papers from fellow Columbia postdocs. This is something I’m genuinely excited about because I love translating complex science into clear, engaging stories that can reach people beyond the academic bubble. I also really value being part of CUPS because it opens the door to meeting postdocs across different fields and interacting with scientists I wouldn’t normally work with. I find these exchanges genuinely inspiring, and they have helped me grow both as a researcher and as a science communicator.