Argentine researcher Soledad Palameta Miller, a University of Campinas (Unicamp) professor, was arrested in flagrante on March 23, 2026, for allegedly stealing and irregularly discarding viral samples from a level 3 biosafety (NB3) lab. She faces charges of endangering lives and procedural fraud but was granted provisional release the next day.
Soledad Palameta Miller, 36, a biotechnologist and doctoral professor at Unicamp's Faculty of Food Engineering (FEA) since 2025, coordinates the Food Virology and Biotechnology Lab, researching food- and water-borne viruses. She is under federal investigation for stealing biological material—handling agents like avian pneumovirus and infectious bronchitis virus—from the Laboratory of Virology and Applied Biotechnology (also called Animal Virology Laboratory) at Unicamp's Institute of Biology. This is one of Brazil's 12 NB3 labs, per the Health Ministry, with strict protocols for high contagion risks.
The samples went missing in February 2026. A Federal Justice hearing report, obtained by Folha de S.Paulo, revealed they were found discarded in unauthorized locations: trash bins at the Cell Culture Laboratory and freezers after irregular handling without protocols. A federal police officer reported Palameta Miller accessed the labs over a weekend, accompanied by a master's student who unlocked the doors.
The arrest occurred on Rua Bortolo Martins in Barão Geraldo, Campinas (SP), as she headed anxiously to a medical center. Federal Police and Unicamp teams located the samples simultaneously, establishing flagrante delicto. She was taken to Mogi Guaçu Women's Penitentiary but released on March 24 by Federal Justice.
Her lawyer, Pedro de Mattos Russo, denied theft, stating she used the Institute of Biology facilities due to lacking her own lab at FEA. Unicamp affirmed cooperation with authorities to clarify the case. The Brazilian Society of Virology highlighted that biosafety measures enabled quick detection and containment of the risk.
The recovered samples were sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock with Anvisa support.
