Sérgio Danilo Junho Pena (born 17 October 1947) is a Brazilian human geneticist and professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Immunology at the

Federal University of Minas Gerais The Federal University of Minas Gerais (, UFMG) is a federalIn the Brazilian Higher Education context, ''Federal'' does not mean ''collegiate'' (even though most Federal Universities in Brazil enjoy a similarly collegiate system), but it means ...

in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He began researching the population genetics of the Brazilian population in the late 1980s. His research on this subject has highlighted the ways that physical characteristics of Brazilians are often discordant with their genetic ancestry. On the basis of his research showing extensive genetic diversity in the Brazilian population, he has vocally advocated for the view that race is a social construct rather than a biological reality. For instance, he received significant media coverage when he led a research team which analyzed the genetic profiles of nine prominent black Brazilian celebrities in May 2007 for a project organized by

BBC Brasil The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state ...

. The results showed that one of these celebrities,

Neguinho da Beija-Flor Neguinho da Beija-Flor OMC, whose real name is Luiz Antônio Feliciano Marcondes, (born June 29, 1949 in Nova Iguaçu) is a samba singer and composer. He has been the official interpreter of the Beija-Flor since 1976. He is the son of a musi ...

, had predominantly (67%) European ancestry despite identifying as black. He was described as "one of Brazil’s best-known and most media-savvy geneticists" in a 2015 academic journal article.

Biography

Born in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, Pena graduated from the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in 1970. He became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada in 1975 and received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

in 1977. He is a member of the

Brazilian Academy of Sciences Brazilian commonly refers to: * Brazil, a country * Brazilians, its people * Brazilian Portuguese, its dialect Brazilian may also refer to: * "The Brazilian", a 1986 instrumental music piece by Genesis * Brazilian Café, Baghdad, Iraq (1937) * Bra ...

. Pena received the Great-Cross of the

National Order of Scientific Merit The National Order of Scientific Merit () is an honor bestowed upon Brazilian and foreign personalities recognized for their scientific and technical contributions to the cause and development of science in Brazil. It was instituted on March 16, 19 ...

in 2006. He received the Prize in Medical Sciences from

the World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) is a North–south research partnerships, merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting more than 1,400 scientists in some 1 ...

(TWAS) in 2007 and was elected to the World Academy of Sciences in 2008. He is a past president of the

Brazilian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Brazilian commonly refers to: * Brazil, a country * Brazilians, its people * Brazilian Portuguese, its dialect Brazilian may also refer to: * "The Brazilian", a 1986 instrumental music piece by Genesis * Brazilian Café, Baghdad, Iraq (1937) * Bra ...

and a member of the

Human Genome Organisation The Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) is a non-profit organization founded in 1988. HUGO represents an international coordinating scientific body in response to initiatives such as the Human Genome Project. HUGO has four active committees, includi ...

's council.

References

External links

Faculty pageCurriculum vitae
* 1947 births Living people Brazilian geneticists Human geneticists Scientists from Belo Horizonte University of Manitoba alumni Federal University of Minas Gerais alumni Academic staff of the Federal University of Minas Gerais Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Members of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences TWAS fellows {{Geneticist-stub