Campus Directory

Division Physical & Biological Sciences Division

Department/College/Unit Chemistry & Biochemistry Department

Title Research Specialist

Affiliation Staff

Staff Type Researcher

Web Site

Primary Office Location Sinsheimer Laboratories
132

Mail Stop Chemistry

Biography, Education and Training

BSc, MSc, and Ph.D. in Biomolecular Physics (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil) and NeCEN - Leiden University (Netherlands). Between 2013-2015, I was Lecturer at the Physics Department - Federal University of Sao Carlos. Posteriorly, I was awarded the Louis Perry Jones Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and later with the prestigious Banting Research Fellow at the University of Toronto, Canada. Currently, I am Director of the Biomolecular Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility - UC Santa Cruz.

Summary of Expertise

        Protein biophysics and structural biology (crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering, and cryo-electron microscopy - single-particles analysis & subtomogram averaging)

Research Interests

Understanding macromolecular interactions and mechanisms using biophysics and structural biology

Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Jeffrey E Lee, Ph.D., 2018 – 2021

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology & University of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario

Understanding the structural and molecular mechanisms of membrane fusion

Mitacs Globalink Fellow, Laboratory of Tzviya Z B Mordehai, Ph.D., 2019 – 2019

Cryo-Electron Microscopy and In-situ Structural Biology & Utrecht University

Utrecht, The Netherlands

Characterization of a glycoprotein entry complex by subtomogram averaging

Louis Perry Jones Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Charles J Weitz, Ph.D., 2017 – 2018

Neurobiology Department & Harvard Medical School

Boston, USA

Structural characterization of the mammalian circadian clock machinery 

Science without Borders Fellow, Laboratory of Marin G van Heel, Ph.D., 2012 – 2015

Netherland Centre of Electron Nanoscopy & Universiteit Leiden

Leiden, The Netherlands

Single-particle cryo-EM analysis revealing selenocysteine ternary complex assembly

Sao Paulo Research Foundation Fellow, Laboratory of Otavio H Thiemann, Ph.D., 2010 – 2017

Crystallography and Biophysics Department & University of Sao Paulo

Sao Carlos, Brazil

Characterization of the macromolecular interactions of proteins involved in the synthesis of selenocysteines in Escherichia coli

Teaching Interests

Part-Time Lecturer

Federal University of Sao Carlos, Sao Carlos – Brazil

Part-time lecturer for undergraduate students at the Physics department (Basic Physics 2; Experimental Physics 1 and 2; General Physics 2).

Graduate Student Instructor

University of Toronto, Toronto - Canada

Invited speaker and evaluator for graduate students: Molecular & cellular mechanisms of disease

Teaching Assistant

University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos – Brazil

Undergraduate level: Introduction to Electronics

University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos – Brazil

Invited speaker to undergraduate students: The importance of effective communication

University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos – Brazil

Undergraduate level: General Biology I

University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos – Brazil

Undergraduate level: Molecular & Structural Biology

Awards, Honors and Grants

Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CHIR)

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CHIR) Postdoctoral Fellowship

Mitacs Globalink Research Award - Visiting research program at Utrecht University – The Netherlands

Louis Perry Jones Postdoctoral Fellowship from Neurobiology Department at Harvard Medical School

European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Travel Award

Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - Ph.D. Scholarship

Brazilian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Award

23rd International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Award

Science without Borders Fellowship from The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – Visiting research program at Universiteit Leiden– The Netherlands

XXV tRNA Conference Young Research Award

The RNA Institute Award 

International Union of Microbeam Analysis Societies-6 Early Career Scholar Award

Microscopy Society of America (MSA) and the Microanalysis American Society Award

Microscopy Society of America (MSA) and the Microanalysis American Society (MAS). Conference Poster Award - Biological applications

Brazilian Society of Microscopy and Microanalysis. Conference Poster Award – category Life Sciences 

The Sao Paulo Research Foundation - Ph.D. Scholarship

The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – Ph.D. Scholarship

XXIV tRNA Conference Allende-Connelly Fellowship

Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel – M.Sc. Scholarship

The Sao Paulo Research Foundation – Undergraduate Scholarship

Selected Publications

1. Anna R. Johnston, Gregory M. Pitch, Eris D. Minckler, Ivette G. Mora, Vitor H. Balasco Serrão, Eric A. Dailing, and Alexander L. Ayzner. Excitonically Coupled Simple Coacervates via Liquid/Liquid Phase Separation. J. Phys. Chem. Lett, v. 13, 10275-81, 2022.
2. DEAN, TREVOR T.; SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO B.; LEE, JEFFREY E. . Structure of the Core Postfusion Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus Fusion Protein. mBio, v. 13, p. e02920-21, 2022.
3. SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO B.; COOK, JONATHAN D.; LEE, JEFFREY E. . Snapshot of an influenza virus glycoprotein fusion intermediate. Cell Reports, v. 35, p. 109152, 2021.
4. DORES-SILVA, PAULO ROBERTO ; KIRALY, VANESSA THOMAZ RODRIGUES ; MORITZ, MILENE NÓBREGA DE OLIVEIRA ; Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco ; DOS PASSOS, PATRÍCIA MARIA SIQUEIRA ; SPAGNOL, VALENTINE ; TEIXEIRA, FELIPE ROBERTI ; GAVA, LISANDRA MARQUES ; CAUVI, DAVID MARIO ; RAMOS, CARLOS HENRIQUE INÁCIO ; DE MAIO, ANTONIO ; BORGES, JÚLIO CÉSAR . New insights on human Hsp70-escort protein 1: Chaperone activity, interaction with liposomes, cellular localizations and HSPA's self-assemblies remodeling. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES, v. 182, p. 772-784, 2021.
5. SIU, KAREN K.; SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO B.; ZIYYAT, AHMED; LEE, JEFFREY E. . The cell biology of fertilization: Gamete attachment and fusion. JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY, v. 220, p. 1-17, 2021.
6. SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO B.; LEE, JEFFREY E. . Detecting in-solution conformational changes in viral fusogens using tryptophan-induced fluorescence quenching. STAR Protocols, v. 2, p. 100994, 2021.
7. Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco; FERNANDES, ADRIANO DE FREITAS ; BASSO, LUIS GUILHERME MANSOR ; SCORTECCI, JÉSSICA FERNANDES ; CRUSCA JÚNIOR, EDSON ; CORNÉLIO, MARINÔNIO LOPES ; DE SOUZA, BIBIANA MONSON ; PALMA, MÁRIO SÉRGIO ; DE OLIVEIRA NETO, MARIO ; Thiemann, Otavio Henrique . The Specific Elongation Factor to Selenocysteine Incorporation in Escherichia coli: Unique tRNASec Recognition and its Interactions. JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, v. 433, p. 167279, 2021. Journal of Molecular Biology Cover Page (Jan 30, 2022). Elsevier, 2022 (Cover page).
8. Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco; SCORTECCI, JESSICA FERNANDES . Why Selenocysteine Is Unique?. FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES, v. 7, p. 1-3, 2020.
9. KIRALY, VANESSA T.R.; DORES-SILVA, PAULO R.; SERRÃO, VITOR H.B.; CAUVI, DAVID M.; DE MAIO, ANTONIO; BORGES, JÚLIO C. . Thermal aggregates of human mortalin and Hsp70-1A behave as supramolecular assemblies. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES, v. 146, p. 320-331, 2020.
10. SCORTECCI, JESSICA F.; SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO B.; FERNANDES, ADRIANO F.; BASSO, LUIS G.M.; GUTIERREZ, RAISSA F. ; ARAUJO, ANA PAULA U.; NETO, MARIO O.; THIEMANN, OTAVIO H. . Initial steps in selenocysteine biosynthesis: The interaction between selenocysteine lyase and selenophosphate synthetase. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES, v. 1, p. 1-12, 2020.
11. DE FREITAS FERNANDES, ADRIANO ; Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco ; SCORTECCI, JÉSSICA FERNANDES ; Thiemann, Otavio Henrique . Seryl-tRNA synthetase specificity for tRNASec in Bacterial Sec biosynthesis. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS, v. 1868, p. 140438, 2020.
12. BINEPAL, GURSONIKA; MABANGLO, MARK F.; GOODREID, JORDAN D.; LEUNG, ELISA; BARGHASH, MARIM M.; WONG, KEITH S.; LIN, FUNING; COSSETTE, MICHELE; BANSAGI, JAZMIN; SONG, BOXI; BALASCO SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO; PAI, EMIL F.; BATEY, ROBERT A.; GRAY-OWEN, SCOTT D.; HOURY, WALID A. . Development of Antibiotics That Dysregulate the ClpP Protease. ACS Infectious Diseases, v. 6, p. 3224-3236, 2020.
13. SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO B.; LEE, JEFFREY E. . FRETing over SARS-CoV-2: Conformational Dynamics of the Spike Glycoprotein. Cell Host & Microbe, v. 28, p. 778-779, 2020.
14. ROMANELLO, LARISSA ; ZERAIK, ANA ELIZA ; DE FREITAS FERNANDES, ADRIANO ; TORINI, JULIANA ROBERTA ; BIRD, LOUISE E. ; NETTLESHIP, JOANNE E. ; RADA, HEATHER ; REDDIVARI, YAMINI ; OWENS, RAY J. ; Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco ; DEMARCO, RICARDO ; BRANDÃO-NETO, JOSÉ ; PEREIRA, HUMBERTO D'MUNIZ . In vitro and in vivo characterization of the multiple isoforms of Schistosoma mansoni hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferases. MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL PARASITOLOGY, v. 229, p. 24-34, 2019.
15. TORINI, JULIANA ROBERTA ; DE FREITAS FERNANDES, ADRIANO ; BALASCO SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO ; ROMANELLO, LARISSA ; BIRD, LOUISE E ; NETTLESHIP, JOANNE E ; OWENS, RAYMOND J. ; BRANDÃO-NETO, JOSÉ ; ZERAIK, ANA ELIZA ; DEMARCO, RICARDO ; D'MUNIZ PEREIRA, HUMBERTO . Characterization of a Schistosoma mansoni NDPK expressed in sexual and digestive organs. MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL PARASITOLOGY, v. 1, p. 111187, 2019.
16. Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco; SILVA, IVAN ROSA ; DA SILVA, MARCO TULIO ALVES ; SCORTECCI, JÉSSICA FERNANDES ; DE FREITAS FERNANDES, ADRIANO ; Thiemann, Otavio Henrique . The unique tRNASec and its role in selenocysteine biosynthesis. AMINO ACIDS, v. 1, p. 1-26, 2018.
17. TORINI, JULIANA ROBERTA ; ROMANELLO, LARISSA ; BATISTA, FERNANDA APARECIDA HELENO ; Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco ; FAHEEM, MUHAMMAD ; ZERAIK, ANA ELIZA ; BIRD, LOUISE ; NETTLESHIP, JOANNE ; REDDIVARI, YAMINI ; OWENS, RAY ; DEMARCO, RICARDO ; BORGES, JÚLIO CÉSAR ; BRANDÃO-NETO, JOSÉ ; PEREIRA, HUMBERTO D?MUNIZ . The molecular structure of Schistosoma mansoni PNP isoform 2 provides insights into the nucleoside selectivity of PNPs. PLoS One, v. 13, p. e0203532, 2018.
18. Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco; ROMANELLO, LARISSA ; CASSAGO, ALEXANDRE ; SOUZA, JULIANA ROBERTA TORINI DE ; CHELESKI, JULIANA ; DEMARCO, RICARDO ; BRANDÃO-NETO, JOSÉ ; PEREIRA, HUMBERTO D?MUNIZ . Structure and kinetics assays of recombinant Schistosoma mansoni dihydrofolate reductase. Acta Tropica, v. 171, p. 1, 2017.
19. ROMANELLO, LARISSA ; Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco ; DE SOUZA, JULIANA ROBERTA TORINI ; BIRD, LOUISE E. ; NETTLESHIP, JOANNE E. ; RADA, HEATHER ; REDDIVARI, YAMINI ; OWENS, RAY J. ; DE MARCO, RICARDO ; BRANDÃO-NETO, JOSÉ ; PEREIRA, HUMBERTO D?MUNIZ . Structural and kinetic analysis of Schistosoma mansoni Adenylosuccinate Lyase ( Sm ADSL). Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology (Print), v. 211, p. 1-10, 2017.
20. ZERAIK, ANA ELIZA ; BALASCO SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO ; ROMANELLO, LARISSA ; TORINI, JULIANA ROBERTA ; CASSAGO, ALEXANDRE ; DEMARCO, RICARDO ; PEREIRA, HUMBERTO D?MUNIZ . Schistosoma mansoni displays an adenine phosphoribosyltransferase preferentially expressed in mature female gonads and vitelaria. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology (Print), v. 1, p. 1-7, 2017.
21. SCORTECCI, JÉSSICA FERNANDES ; Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco ; CHELESKI, JULIANA ; TORINI, JULIANA ROBERTA ; ROMANELLO, LARISSA ; DEMARCO, RICARDO ; D'MUNIZ PEREIRA, HUMBERTO . Spectroscopic and calorimetric assays reveal dependence on dCTP and two metals (Zn 2+ + Mg 2+ ) for enzymatic activity of Schistosoma mansoni deoxycytidylate (dCMP) deaminase. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS, v. 1, p. 1-8, 2017.
22. SERRAO, VITOR HUGO BALASCO; PEREIRA, HUMBERTO D`MUNIZ ; DE SOUZA, JULIANA ROBERTA TORINI ; ROMANELLO, LARISSA . Schistosoma mansoni purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis: structures and kinetic experiments in the search for the best therapeutic target. CURRENT PHARMACEUTICAL DESIGN, v. 23, p. 1-9, 2017.
23. GAVA, DANIELLE ; Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco ; FERNANDES, LANA TEIXEIRA ; CANTÃO, MAURICIO EGÍDIO ; CIACCI-ZANELLA, JANICE REIS ; MORÉS, NELSON ; SCHAEFER, REJANE . Structure analysis of capsid protein of Porcine circovirus type 2 from pigs with systemic disease. BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY, v. 1, p. 1-9, 2017.
24. DA SILVA NETO, ANTÔNIO MARINHO ; TORINI DE SOUZA, JULIANA ROBERTA ; ROMANELLO, LARISSA ; CASSAGO, ALEXANDRE ; Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco ; DEMARCO, RICARDO ; BRANDÃO-NETO, JOSÉ ; Garratt, Richard Charles ; PEREIRA, HUMBERTO D'MUNIZ . Analysis of two Schistosoma mansoni uridine phosphorylases isoforms suggests the emergence of a protein with a non-canonical function. Biochimie (Paris. Print), v. 125, p. 12-22, 2016.
25. BARBOSA, NATÁLIA M. ; BOLDRIN, PAULO E. G. ; ROSSI, DANUZA ; YAMAMOTO, PRISCILA A. ; WATANABE, TATIANA F. ; SERRÃO, VITOR H. ; HERSHEY, JOHN W. B. ; FRASER, CHRISTOPHER S. ; VALENTINI, SANDRO R. ; ZANELLI, CLESLEI F. . Mapping surface residues of eIF5A that are important for binding to the ribosome using alanine scanning mutagenesis. Amino Acids (Wien. Print), v. 726, p. 1-12, 2016.
26. SILVA, IVAN R. ; SERRAO, VITOR HUGO B. ; MANZINE, LIVIA R. ; FAIM, LIVIA M. ; DA SILVA, MARCO TULIO A. ; MAKKI, RAPHAELA ; SAIDEMBERG, DANIEL M. ; CORNELIO, MARINONIO L. ; PALMA, MARIO S. ; THIEMANN, OTAVIO H. . Formation of a Ternary Complex for Selenocysteine Biosynthesis in Bacteria. The Journal of Biological Chemistry (Print), v. 290, p. jbc.M114.613406, 2015.
27. Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco; REGINA MANZINE, LÍVIA ; E SILVA, IVAN ROSA ; CASSAGO, ALEXANDRE ; BETTINI, JEFFERSON ; VILLARES PORTUGAL, RODRIGO ; VAN HEEL, MARIN ; HENRIQUE THIEMANN, OTAVIO . Investigation of Escherichia coli Selenocysteine Synthase (SelA) Complex Formation Using Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM). Microscopy and Microanalysis (Print), v. 20, p. 1282-1283, 2014.
28. MANZINE, LIVIA REGINA ; Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco ; LIMA, LUIS MAURÍCIO TRAMBAIOLI DA ROCHA E ; DE SOUZA, MARCOS MICHEL ; BETTINI, JEFFERSON ; PORTUGAL, RODRIGO VILLARES ; VAN HEEL, MARIN ; Thiemann, Otavio Henrique . Assembly stoichiometry of bacterial selenocysteine synthase and SelC (tRNAsec). FEBS Letters (Print), v. 587, p. 906-911, 2013.
29. Serrão, Vitor Hugo Balasco; Alessandro, Fernando ; Caldas, Victor Emanoel Armini ; Marçal, Rafaela Leite ; D'MUNIZ PEREIRA, HUMBERTO ; Thiemann, Otavio Henrique ; Garratt, Richard Charles . Promiscuous interactions of human septins: The GTP binding domain of SEPT7 forms filaments within the crystal. FEBS Letters (Print), v. 585, p. 3868-3873, 2011.
30. PEREIRA, H. M.; DEMARCO, R.; Romanelo, L.; DE SOUZA, J. R. T.; CALDAS, V. E. A.; SERRÃO, V. H. B.; Cassago, A.; GARRATT, R. C. . Studies of nucleotide metabolism from blood fluke. Acta Crystallographica. Section A, Foundations of Crystallography, v. 67, p. C288-C289, 2011.
31. SERRÃO, VITOR HUGO B.; Scortecci, Jéssica F. ; D¿Muniz Pereira, Humberto . Characterization of Schistosoma mansoni Dihydrofolate Reductase (DHFR). Methods in Molecular Biology. 1ed.: Springer US, 2020, v. , p. 159-172.