Andréa de Paiva is the founder of NeuroAU and an influential leader at the intersection of neuroscience, design, and architecture. A member of the Board of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) and Vice Chair of the ANFA Chapter Brazil, she is dedicated to exploring the integration of neuroscience, architecture, and design, focusing on how physical environments influence behavior and human well-being.

With a Master of Arts from Middlesex University in London and a degree in Architecture and Urbanism from USP (University of São Paulo), Andréa takes an interdisciplinary approach that combines academic research, teaching, and professional practice. Her research interests include the application of cognitive science to architecture and urban planning, with an emphasis on topics such as the impact of the physical environment on well-being, environmental enrichment, brain plasticity and cognitive reserve, the multisensory experience of space, and cognitive restoration.

Andréa coordinates the course Interiors & Neuroscience: People-Focused Design at the IED (Istituto Europeo di Design). She also contributed to the creation and coordination of neuroscience courses applied to business at FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas) and, at FAAP (Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado), developed the course Neuroscience Applied to Environments and Creation, which reached its 10th edition in 2022.

Certified in Design Thinking by the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Andréa works as a NeuroArchitecture consultant, applying her expertise to significant projects, including the renowned architecture firm Athié Wohnrath (recognized as one of Brazil's most successful architecture firms by Forbes in 2016); consulting for FGV (ranked the top think tank in Latin America by the Global Go To Think Tanks Index, 2020); and collaborating on international research projects such as StairWELL, which investigates how design influences behavior, developed by DPA Architects in Singapore/London and funded by the Design Singapore Council.