Denise holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Florida (1994). She has been the Dean (Vice-Provost) for Planning, Budget, and Institutional Assessment at the University of Brasília since November 2016. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics also at the University of Brasília, with expertise in Environmental Economics, Economic Management of the Environment, Environmental Chemistry, and University Management. Her research interests include environmental public policies, university management and evaluation policies, studies of natural and anthropogenic environmental processes, and their management through environmental economics, with an emphasis on waste and effluent management.