He completed his PhD studies in Cell Biophysics at the University of Extremadura, Spain in 2006. His research provided the first plausible explanation of how mitochondria import proteins from the cell cytoplasm without compromising the permeability barrier that is essential for energy production. In 2007, Professor Peixoto moved to New York University to study therapeutic approaches for control of cell death. He was awarded the “Young Bioenergeticist Award” from the Biophysical Society in 2010. The following year he moved to the Weill Cornell Medical College, where he studied the role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases that assail the aging human population. His current research at Baruch College pertains to understanding how mitochondria interact with the rest of the cell in health and disease contexts.