The experience of conducting research abroad goes far beyond learning new laboratory techniques. During her sandwich PhD at the University of Reading, United Kingdom, PhD candidate Ma. Nathalia Margarida Cantuária is investigating a question that may help explain complications associated with chronic diseases: what happens when collagen undergoes oxidation? In this article, we explore her research and, with Nathalia’s collaboration, share her perspective on what it has been like to live and conduct science abroad.
This is the first Farmaco em Foco article featuring the collaboration of one of the students from our Graduate Program in Pharmacology (School of Medical Sciences – Unicamp): Ma. Nathalia Margarida Cantuária.
Nathalia earned her Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Sorocaba. She is currently pursuing her PhD at Unicamp under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Renato Simões Gaspar, from the Extracellular Matrix Laboratory. Her research investigates how collagen oxidation can alter the responses of platelets and endothelial cells.
She is currently conducting part of her doctoral research at the University of Reading, United Kingdom, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jonathan M. Gibbins, an internationally recognized expert in platelet biology. Her research stay abroad is funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), providing her with the opportunity to learn new techniques and exchange experiences with researchers from different countries.
At the invitation of Farmaco em Foco, Nathalia shares below her reflections on her experience in England and on how living and conducting research in another country has contributed to her development as a scientist.
The Experience of a Sandwich PhD in England (by Ma. Nathalia)
At some point during their academic journey, many graduate students dream of spending part of their research abroad.
That dream goes far beyond the opportunity to visit another country. It is a chance to strengthen one’s academic background, exchange knowledge with researchers from different institutions, and broaden scientific horizons. Such an experience contributes not only to scientific training but also to personal growth. After all, people often say that real growth happens outside our comfort zone.
It is also an opportunity to represent your country and show that Brazil is much more than the image often portrayed by the media. It allows you to build professional networks, connect with researchers from different nationalities, learn new methodologies, and exchange perspectives on how, where, and why research is conducted.
In Brazil, there are several ways to obtain funding for a research period abroad. The main opportunities for graduate students are sandwich fellowships funded by CAPES, CNPq, and state research funding agencies, such as FAPESP through its BEPE program. The eligibility criteria vary depending on the funding agency, so it is always important to consult the official calls and guidelines available on their websites.
From an academic perspective, conducting research activities in another country provides an extraordinary learning experience and can be truly transformative. During this period, researchers are exposed to different scientific approaches, new methodologies, alternative analytical techniques, distinct ways of presenting data, and, perhaps most importantly, different perspectives on what it means to do science and how each culture shapes scientific practice.
Conducting research abroad takes you completely out of your comfort zone. Surprisingly, the language barrier is only one of many challenges. Beyond communication, you begin to understand that each culture has its own way of approaching scientific research. This influences how researchers work and how society perceives and values scientists.
This cultural difference has been what has impressed me the most during my time in England. I have found the working environment to be lighter and more relaxed than what I experienced in Brazil. Of course, there are institutions here that follow a much more traditional academic culture, where my perception would probably not apply.
Another aspect that caught my attention is how most researchers organize their daily routine in the laboratory, balancing their time between conducting experiments, analyzing data, and reading scientific papers.
At least in the environment where I work, I have also noticed that researchers make a conscious effort to separate their professional and personal lives. They respect working hours in the laboratory, focus on accomplishing their tasks efficiently, and value the time they spend outside work.
That said, researchers here also face challenges very similar to those encountered in Brazil, including uncertainty about securing academic positions after postdoctoral training, difficulties in obtaining research funding, and the ever-present pressure of deadlines.
Beyond the academic experience, living abroad can profoundly transform us and contribute to our personal growth. Personal and academic life may be separated in our schedules, but it is almost impossible to separate them within ourselves.
The cultural shock is striking, especially for someone like me who had never left the country before. Those who have traveled internationally for tourism or scientific conferences may underestimate this experience. However, living abroad is entirely different from simply visiting. It means learning how to use public transportation, shopping for groceries, working, and interacting daily with local residents.
It is through everyday life that you realize there is an invisible cultural barrier. It is difficult to describe, even if I tried. But it is there, and only living through this experience allows you to truly understand it.
To complete this journey, there is one aspect that beautifully connects both personal and professional life: the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. For me, this has been the most meaningful part of the experience. Having the chance to meet and talk with people from different cultures, religions, and worldviews, whether inside or outside academia, has been incredibly enriching.
Getting to know different cultures and people broadens your perspective. It shows that the world is both more complex and simpler than you once imagined. You realize that kindness exists, that friendships do not require geographical proximity, and that language has never truly been a barrier.
Living abroad teaches you that the world is much more than borders and countries. The world is made of people. And that is what makes this experience so complete and so profoundly transformative.
When I Also Did Science in the United Kingdom
Now the narrative shifts back to me, Mia, the science journalist behind this blog.
During my PhD, I also had the opportunity to spend part of my doctoral research abroad through a sandwich PhD program, as we call research stays in another country. Coincidentally, I was not very far from where Nathalia is now. I spent my research period at the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow, Scotland (also part of the United Kingdom, just like England).
I can wholeheartedly relate to everything Nathalia has described. I would even say that I had never felt so Brazilian as I did while living abroad. The cultural differences were so striking that they made me recognize aspects of my own Brazilian identity that I had never noticed before.
The experience was not always easy, despite what many people might imagine. I had already traveled to other countries, both for tourism and to attend scientific conferences. In fact, I had previously traveled alone to England for a conference.
But nothing compares to living, studying, and working in another country. Even though I am fluent in English, it is still not my native language. Speaking (and even thinking) in English all day long was mentally exhausting. On top of that, the local accent often sounded like an entirely different language.
As Nathalia pointed out, however, the greatest challenge was not the language but the cultural differences. Some situations were amusing and memorable, such as discovering unexpected products at the supermarket. More often, though, these differences made everyday life more challenging and left me feeling like an outsider. There were unfamiliar bureaucratic processes, social interactions that felt unusual, responsibilities I did not fully understand, and countless other situations that constantly reminded me I was far from home.
These challenges become even more significant when we remember that we are Latin Americans. Many Europeans still hold stereotypical or even prejudiced views about us. At times, this led to unpleasant situations that I had never experienced while traveling as a tourist.
Despite these obstacles, the experience was extraordinary. None of the difficulties outweighed the benefits. In fact, perhaps it was precisely those challenges that made the experience so transformative. After all, diamonds are formed under pressure. Professionally and personally, I grew in ways that would probably have taken much longer had I remained in Brazil, or perhaps would never have happened at all. I returned home a much more mature person, something that was evident not only to me but also to those around me.
The Invisible Enemy of Collagen
Returning to Nathalia’s sandwich PhD project, we would like to explain a little more about the research she is conducting.
Nathalia investigates collagen oxidation. She recently published a review article summarizing everything currently known about this topic. The paper appeared in Redox Report and was co-authored by PhD candidate Felipe Caliani Mathias-Netto and her supervisor, Prof. Dr. Renato Simões Gaspar.
When people hear the word collagen, they often think of skin, wrinkles, or beauty products. However, collagen plays far more important roles in the human body. It is the main structural protein responsible for providing support to tissues, forming a framework that maintains the organization of organs, muscles, tendons, cartilage, and blood vessels.
We have previously discussed collagen in our article “Glycated Collagen: What Diabetes Leaves Behind in Blood Vessels Even After Treatment,” which explored research conducted by the Extracellular Matrix Laboratory, led by Prof. Renato Gaspar. That article focused on collagen glycation. Nathalia’s research, however, investigates a different type of modification: collagen oxidation.
Just as iron can oxidize (or rust) after prolonged exposure to oxygen, collagen in our bodies can also undergo chemical changes throughout life as a result of interactions with reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Reactive oxygen species are highly reactive molecules that are naturally produced by the body. Under normal conditions, they play essential physiological roles, including cell signaling and defense against microorganisms.
The body possesses antioxidant defense systems that neutralize these molecules by converting them into less reactive compounds. Under healthy conditions, these antioxidant mechanisms keep reactive oxygen species under control, preventing their accumulation.
The problem arises when the production of reactive oxygen species increases dramatically, as occurs in several diseases, including diabetes and many types of cancer. In these situations, ROS production exceeds the body’s antioxidant capacity. This imbalance is known as oxidative stress.
Because reactive oxygen species are highly reactive, they can interact with proteins, lipids, and DNA, causing cellular damage. During oxidative stress, the excessive accumulation of these molecules leads to much greater damage than normal. This mechanism is believed to contribute to many complications associated with chronic diseases, including urinary dysfunction in diabetes.
Collagen itself is a protein and is therefore also susceptible to oxidative damage. This is particularly important because collagen is remarkably long-lived. Individual collagen fibers can remain in the body for more than ten years before being replaced.
As a result, collagen gradually accumulates oxidative damage over many years, much like an iron anchor resting on the ocean floor slowly accumulates rust. This suggests that collagen oxidation may play an important role in the complications associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and even aging.
This raises several important questions. Do these accumulated oxidative modifications alter collagen’s structure enough to impair its biological function? Could they interfere with essential processes such as cell communication and tissue function? And how significant are these effects?
These are precisely the questions that Nathalia, Prof. Renato Gaspar, PhD candidate Felipe Caliani Mathias-Netto, and undergraduate researcher Mayara Grazielly Brito Rocio are working to answer.
One of the central questions in this research is whether collagen oxidation changes the way platelets respond to injury within blood vessels.
Under normal conditions, collagen remains hidden beneath the endothelium, the thin layer of cells lining the inside of blood vessels. When a blood vessel is injured, collagen becomes exposed to circulating blood. This exposure serves as a powerful signal that activates platelets and initiates blood clotting. This process is essential for stopping bleeding; without it, even minor injuries could result in uncontrolled blood loss.
Researchers in the Extracellular Matrix Laboratory are investigating whether oxidized collagen is even more effective at activating platelets than unmodified collagen. If so, this could help explain why patients with chronic diseases characterized by oxidative stress are at greater risk of developing blood clots.
Blood clots, or thrombi, form inside blood vessels and can partially or completely obstruct blood flow, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Preliminary data from the laboratory already suggest that platelets aggregate more readily when exposed to oxidized collagen than to non-oxidized collagen.
In addition, Prof. Renato Gaspar’s research group is investigating how collagen oxidation affects the endothelium, the inner lining of blood vessels. Under normal conditions, the endothelium helps prevent unwanted clot formation. Therefore, damage to this tissue may further contribute to the increased risk of thrombosis observed in chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress.
Understanding the role of oxidized collagen in thrombosis could reveal new therapeutic targets for reducing the risk of cardiovascular events.
Nathalia’s experience illustrates that science is built not only in the laboratory but also through collaboration among researchers from different cultures and institutions. Research like hers helps answer fundamental questions about how our bodies function and may contribute to the development of new strategies for preventing and treating diseases that affect millions of people worldwide.
Funding
The research presented in this article was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (grant numbers 22/05750-7 and 24/16379-3), CAPES (Finance Code 001), and the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
This article was produced with the support of the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Brazil, Grant No. 25/17158-3. The opinions, hypotheses, conclusions, and recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAPESP.
Learn More
Extracellular Matrix Laboratory (ECM Lab)
Collagen Oxidation (DOI: 10.1080/13510002.2026.2682046)
Platelet Activation (DOI: 10.1155/2016/9060143)
Oxidative Stress and Chronic Diseases (DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00694)
Platelet Activation and Oxidized Collagen (DOI: 10.1089/ars.2013.5337)
Written by:
Mia Schezaro Ramos
Pharmacist. Ph.D. in Pharmacology. Science journalist, illustrator, trans, Nintendo enthusiast, K-pop fan, and dependent on physical exercise to stay sane.
Nathalia Margarida Cantuária
Pharmacist. M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Ph.D. candidate in Pharmacology.