Biologist with a master’s and a doctorate in Science from the University of São Paulo, Joanna Darck Carola Correia Lima has built an outstanding international career in metabolism, hypoxia and cancer. At the University of Oxford, she worked alongside Professor Sir Peter Ratcliffe, awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, conducting research on hypoxia mechanisms, cell proliferation and VHL tumour suppressor-related oncogenesis. She currently focuses on kidney cancer research at the Hospital das Clínicas of the USP School of Medicine and leads the SPARTA project, funded by FAPESP’s Young International Researcher Program. Her work combines scientific excellence, innovation and social impact. Joanna is also the creator of the ‘Aplique no Alvo’ project, an initiative that has already supported over 50 Brazilians in their journey to the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and other leading international centres.