He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), a Master’s in Drugs and Medicines (Pharmacognosy) from the University of São Paulo (USP), and a Ph.D. in Chemistry (Natural Products Chemistry) from the Institute of Chemistry at São Paulo State University (IQ-UNESP). During his doctoral studies, he conducted research at the University of Salerno (Italy) and the University of Geneva (Switzerland).

He completed postdoctoral research at the Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS) and IQ-UNESP, applying green chemistry concepts to natural product chemistry. In 2014, he was selected as a SciFinder Future Leader in Chemistry, an award granted by the Chemical Abstracts Service of the American Chemical Society. He has industry experience, having worked at Labiana Life Sciences (Spain) and Grupo Centroflora (Brazil), leading innovation projects in collaboration with universities and research institutes.

Currently, he is an Associate Professor (5.3) at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at UNESP (FCA/UNESP), collaborating with researchers from institutions such as The University of Manchester, Future Industries Institute (Australia), The Centre for Green Chemical Science (The University of Auckland), University of Münster, HAW Hamburg, and University of Kiel.

Prof. Funari has a particular interest in developing strategies to align Natural Products Chemistry with Green Chemistry principles. He strongly believes that natural product chemists should play a more significant role in shaping a new ecological paradigm in chemistry, which he sees as essential for the field to regain its prominence in drug discovery. As the pharmaceutical industry increasingly prioritizes environmental sustainability, he argues that natural product chemistry must evolve accordingly.

He is the coordinator of the Green Biotech Network, a collaborative research network connecting young faculty members from various UNESP units and other research institutions.