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This year, BCM’s Dr. Rafael Tomoya Michita is one of the few selected from more than hundreds of nominations from across North America. He is a postdoctoral associate in Dr. Indira Mysorekar’s lab where he studies immunological tolerance mechanisms of pregnancy and how pathogens like the Zika and HIV viruses exploit them to infect the placenta. The overall focus of his research is to improve maternal and fetal health.

“My motivation began soon after completing my bachelor of science, when I worked for more than two years as a medical laboratory scientist in a referral hospital in Brazil,” Tomoya said. “Most of the patient samples I analyzed came from pregnant women, and I realized how little is known about pregnancy disorders and how limited our options are to manage conditions such as preterm birth, infections and preeclampsia.”

This was a turning point in �մdz��Dzⲹ’s career. “I knew I could contribute to these important knowledge gaps in maternal health through science, building on my experience in both basic and translational research,” Tomoya said. “My journey formally started in the laboratory of Dr. José Artur Bogo Chies at Brazil’s Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul working with reproductive immunology. His positive mentorship played a major part in my career development.”

Moving abroad and navigating a new funding system and bureaucracy was challenging. “Luckily, science is universal, and with the support of my colleagues and Dr. Mysorekar, my integration was much faster,” Tomoya said.

Joining Mysorekar’s lab in 2021 was driven by his passion for research and the desire to strengthen his scientific expertise by adding novel elements and tools to address pressing questions. “I was already familiar with Dr. Mysorekar’s seminal work on Zika virus and her commitment to improving maternal health, and I was right in believing she would also be an amazing mentor and scientist,” Tomoya said.

�մdz��Dzⲹ’s groundbreaking work in the Mysorekar lab revealed how Zika viruses spread through the placenta. He discovered that the virus builds underground tunnels, a series of tiny tubes called tunneling nanotubes, that facilitate the transfer of viral particles to neighboring uninfected cells. These findings offer vital insights that could be used to develop therapeutic strategies targeted against this stealth transmission mode.

Tomoya has a clear road ahead. “My plan is to stay in the United States and establish my own laboratory to keep pushing the boundaries of discovery and work to improve maternal-fetal health through science,” he said. “In September I received an NIH K99/R00 award, which is helping me drive my career forward. And being recognized as a STAT Wunderkind is a very exciting accolade. I felt that all the efforts, long hours, and weekends in the lab were worth it – not in a negative way, but because I had a lot of fun!

“It has been a privilege to mentor Dr. Rafael Tomoya, and I am delighted he is being honored with the STAT Wunderkind Award!” said Mysorekar, E.I. Wagner Endowed, M.D., Chair Internal Medicine II, chief of basic and translational research and professor of medicine – infectious diseases at Baylor. “Rafael’s work is already reshaping our understanding of placental vulnerability to viral infections – a question of enormous importance to maternal-fetal health worldwide. I can say without hesitation that he is poised to be a trailblazer in virology and maternal-fetal medicine. Rafael is not only a brilliant scientist but he also is a gifted mentor and an inspiring leader for the next generation of scientists. He is a true wunderkind!"