Leonor Gusmão is a Professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil, with a career spanning more than three decades in human population genetics and its applications to forensic genetics and kinship analysis. She received her diploma in Biology from the University of Porto, Portugal, in 1990, followed by a Master’s Degree in Cellular Biology from the University of Coimbra in 1993, and a PhD in Biology - Population Genetics from the University of Porto in 1997.

Throughout her career, she has focused on advancing knowledge in human population and forensic genetics through scientific publications, student training, teaching, international collaborations, and active participation in scientific societies. Her contributions include the study and application of Y‑chromosomal, X‑chromosomal, and ancestry‑informative markers to the forensic field; the investigation and modeling of microsatellite mutation rates; the development and evaluation of methodologies for ancestry estimation; and the genetic reconstruction of population history in European, African, South American admixed, and Native populations.

She is Vice‑President of GHEP‑ISFG (the Spanish and Portuguese‑language working group of the International Society for Forensic Genetics), and Associate Editor of Forensic Science International: Genetics (Elsevier Science, London).