Marcos Cortesão Barnsley Scheuenstuhl is an economist graduated in 1988 from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). He obtained his MSc degree at the same university and later went to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro to develop a PhD. For many years he worked at UERJ, where he focused on Higher Education Policies and Funding of Higher Education in Latin America. He also worked for the Inter-Union Department for Socioeconomic Studies and Statistics, where he developed studies on the Brazilian national financial system. Throughout his career he has dedicated much attention to institutional capacity building and networking. In 2000 he was invited to help organize the Office of International Affairs of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. Within the Office he initially took responsibility over the Americas, playing a role in the structuring of the InterAmerican Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS), where he served as Executive Director since the establishment of the network until 2010. For the last years he has been responsible for coordinating the interaction between the Academy and major international scientific organizations, such as the InterAcademy Partnership and the International Science Council (ISC). He also plays an active role in the coordination of several national programs and initiatives, most of these in the areas of Science Policy, Natural Resources, Health, Science Education, and Environmental Issues.