Cassio de Figueiredo has been working full time as a a Research Fellow at the Clinical Investigation Centre (CIC-INSERM 1424) and the Institute for the Health of the Amazonian Peoples (ISPA), Cayenne University Hospital – Université de Guyane. A Franco-Brazilian anthropologist and project manager, he has built a multidisciplinary career spanning public health, anthropology, and intercultural mediation, with extensive field experience among Indigenous populations across French Guiana and Brazil.

A former teacher within the Wayãpi community of Trois-Sauts (Upper Oyapock) for the French National Education system, he completed a Master of Research in Anthropology through immersive fieldwork with this community, with whom he maintains long-standing professional and personal ties. Over the past decade, he has carried out continuous ethnographic and development work among the Wayãpi, both in French Guiana and Brazil, including several ethnographic expeditions retracing their ancestral migration routes through the Tumucumaque Mountains. From 2021 to 2024, he worked for three consecutive years in Brazil, coordinating projects for the Wayãpi Amerindians with Iepé (Instituto de Pesquisa e Formação Indígena) and APIWATA (Associação dos Povos Indígenas Wajãpi do Triângulo do Amapari), supporting Indigenous health, education, and community development.

At the CIC-INSERM 1424 / ISPA, he is currently conducting his doctoral research project (Université de Guyane – École Doctorale ED587 “Diversities, Health and Development in Amazonia”). His research examines the role and impact of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and mediators in Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention along the Upper Oyapock, combining ethnographic, clinical, and participatory methods.

With strong expertise in Amerindian health systems, reinforced by specialised training in Indigenous Health Participation and Social Control (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, 2023), he brings an approach grounded in respect for cultural diversity, community participation, and intercultural dialogue. Fluent in French, Portuguese, and English, and currently learning the Wayãpi language, he has earned the trust of the Wayãpi and Teko communities through years of sustained collaboration on both sides of the border. His work continues to strengthen the links between Indigenous knowledge systems, community-based health strategies, and public health research in Amazonia.