Gustavo Silva is the Jack H. Neely Associate Professor of Biology and Associate Professor of Biology in the Department of Biology at Duke University, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at Duke University School of Medicine. Silva earned his B.Sc. in 2004 and Ph.D. in 2010 from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He joined the Duke faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2017, was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2024, and appointed Jack H. Neely Associate Professor of Biology in 2025.

The Silva Lab investigates mechanisms regulating gene expression at transcriptional and translational levels during stress, with emphasis on ubiquitin control of protein synthesis and degradation. Research focuses on oxidative stress responses, redox regulation of ubiquitination, and ubiquitin enzymes affecting mitochondrial function, energy metabolism, and cellular health. The lab employs cellular and molecular biology, proteomics, structural biology, next-generation sequencing, and CRISPR screens toward ubiquitin-based therapies. Funding includes NIH grants as principal investigator, such as those on ubiquitination in stress responses and translation control, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Science Diversity and Leadership Award (2023, $1.15 million over five years), and training programs. Key publications include "Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs): Regulation, homeostasis, and oxidative stress response" (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2021), "K63 polyubiquitination is a new modulator of the oxidative stress response" (Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2015), "Redox control of the deubiquitinating enzyme Ubp2 regulates translation during stress" (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2024), and "The ubiquitin conjugase Rad6 mediates ribosome pausing during oxidative stress" (Cell Reports, 2023). Awards encompass 2025 Biology Teaching Award, 2025 Bass Society of Fellows, 2024 Paul T. Englund Emerging Scholar Award, top 5% undergraduate instructors in Natural Sciences (2024), and 2023 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Silva co-founded the Duke Black Think Tank, serves on the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Maximizing Access Committee, and acts as discipline leader and ambassador for the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists.

Professional Email: gustavo.silva@duke.edu