Lattes CV for medical students
Table of contents
The scientific initiation scholarship call asks for an "updated Lattes CV link". The third-year student opens the platform for the first time and finds dozens of fields: education, professional experience, projects, productions, events, supervisions. They do not know where to put the academic league, whether the congress poster counts as a production, or whether they should record the online electrocardiography course.
NEXO is a daily medical diagnosis game: one clinical case a day, six progressive clues, and ICD-10 proximity feedback across five levels.
The Lattes CV is the standard academic record in Brazil. For medical students, it appears in calls for scientific initiation, teaching assistantships, exchanges, master's programs and in some residency selections. This guide explains what the Lattes Platform is, how to create the CV, what to record in each part, how to describe activities honestly and how to keep it up to date without turning that into an obsession.
Key points
- The Lattes Platform, run by CNPq, brings together CVs of students and researchers, research groups and institutions.
- A CV should be accurate and truthful in content, careful in presentation and well written.
- The CV summary works as a short academic autobiography and deserves attention.
- In the United States, the number and quality of publications by residency applicants have been increasing across several specialties.
- Recording activities right after they happen prevents forgetfulness and errors.
What the Lattes CV is
The platform
The Lattes Platform is maintained by CNPq and brings together the Lattes CV, the directory of institutions and the directory of research groups, as well as dashboards and a research data repository (CNPq, Lattes Platform). The name honors the Brazilian physicist César Lattes.
Anyone can search for and read CVs published on the platform. That is what makes Lattes useful in selections: the evaluator opens the link and finds the academic trajectory in a standard format.
Why it matters in Medicine
Calls for scientific initiation, teaching assistantship, mobility program and graduate scholarship applications usually ask for the Lattes CV. Some residency selections also review the CV, with weights and criteria defined in the call. Even when the CV is not required, keeping it organized helps you remember what you did during the course.
A portrait of the trajectory
A study of 238 Lattes CVs of social scientists in health analyzed the document as a form of autobiographical practice (Nascimento and Nunes, 2014). The authors point out that the CV brings together education, activities and projects, academic production, participation in examination boards and an autobiographical summary (Nascimento and Nunes, 2014).
The idea applies to the student: the Lattes CV tells a story. A coherent CV shows interests that repeat and grow throughout the course, not a loose list of certificates.
How to create yours
Registration
Registration is done on the Lattes Platform portal, in the option to register a new CV (CNPq, Lattes Platform). Have personal documents, undergraduate data and a list of activities you have already done at hand. The system asks for identification, address and education data, and the CV only appears in the public search after it is submitted.
Identifiers
It is also worth registering a researcher identifier, such as ORCID, and entering it in Lattes. It helps link your publications to your name, even when there are spelling variations or namesakes.
Name in citations
Define early how your name will appear in articles and abstracts, for example with one or two surnames. Record the variations in the field for name in bibliographic citations. Keeping a standard makes your production easier to find.
The summary
The summary, or presentation text, is the first thing the evaluator reads. In a few lines, say what stage of the course you are at, what your main interests are and in which activities they appear. Write in the third person and update it whenever something important changes.
An example of a summary
"Fourth-year medical student at University X. Since the second year, has taken part in a scientific initiation project on adherence to hypertension treatment in primary care, under the supervision of professor Y. Was a teaching assistant in Physiology for two semesters and is a member of the academic family medicine league. Interested in public health and in clinical research in primary care services."
The example shows what works: stage of the course, main activities with time devoted to each, a common thread between them and stated interests. Avoid adjectives about yourself, such as dedicated or proactive; the facts speak better. Revise the text every semester, because an outdated summary gives the impression of an abandoned CV.
What to record in each part
Academic background
Record the undergraduate course in progress, with institution and start year. Short complementary courses go in their own part, not as academic background.
Research and outreach projects
Record the projects you take part in, with title, coordinator, period, short description and your role. Scientific initiation and outreach have their own guides in this series; here the point is the record: the project must appear with the same title used in the call notice or the report.
Bibliographic production
Articles published in journals, abstracts published in conference proceedings and book chapters go here. Use the exact publication data, including the DOI when there is one. Submitted or accepted articles should only appear when the system offers the corresponding category, and with the correct status.
Technical production and presentations
Presentations at conferences, lectures, educational materials and event organization go as technical production or as a work presentation. Preparing to present at a conference has its own guide in this series.
Events
Taking part in conferences, meetings and symposia, as an attendee or presenter, has its own section. Record the event name, year, city and form of participation.
Teaching assistantships, leagues and student representation
A teaching assistantship can be recorded as a teaching activity under professional experience or in another section indicated by your institution. Academic leagues, student centers and student representation fit under other relevant information or in the activities parts, according to the guidance of each call notice.
Awards and honors
Best paper awards at conferences, honorable mentions and approval in competitive selections go in the awards and honors section, with year and the institution that granted them.
Languages
State the languages you understand, speak, read and write, with the level of each skill. Be realistic: in selections with an interview, the stated level can be tested. For those thinking about an exchange program, the topic of another guide in this series, this section matters.
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How to write with honesty
Accuracy and truth
A text on organizing a CV on the Lattes Platform recalls that the CV is the document that presents the person and therefore must be prepared with care, with precise and true content, good presentation and good writing (Amorin, 2003). The Lattes CV is public and can be checked by any evaluator.
What to avoid
- Inflating participation: listing as an author a work you only heard about.
- Duplicating entries: the same abstract as an article and as a presentation, or the same project under different titles.
- Recording what did not happen: articles "in preparation" listed as published.
- Exaggerating languages and skills that can be tested.
False information in a CV can have academic and legal consequences, besides breaking the trust of supervisors and colleagues.
Evaluators check
In a review of 379 applications to a radiology residency in the United States, the authors checked each publication declared in MEDLINE and concluded that 11% of the candidates who listed publications had probably misrepresented them (Baker and Jackson, 2000). Many citations could not be verified for lack of data or because they came from journals not indexed (Baker and Jackson, 2000).
A more recent study, with 339 applications to a plastic surgery residency, found unverifiable manuscripts or divergent author lists in 9.1% of candidates (Fanning et al., 2025). The authors note that some of the discrepancies may come from classification error, such as recording a conference abstract as a peer-reviewed article (Fanning et al., 2025). Complete data, with DOI and the correct category, keep a mistake from looking like bad faith.
Quantity and quality
A scoping review of publications by students accepted into residency in the United States included 18 studies from ten specialties (Hahamyan et al., 2024). Publications increased over time in almost all specialties, and a higher number of publications and a higher h-index were associated with acceptance into more competitive programs (Hahamyan et al., 2024).
The same review observed that the American selection system adds up publications, presentations and abstracts without distinguishing peer-reviewed articles from other products (Hahamyan et al., 2024). The Brazilian context is different, and each call for applications defines its own criteria. The useful lesson is that attentive evaluators tell a peer-reviewed article apart from an abstract, and that quality counts.
A well-executed project is worth more
In a follow-up of ten cohorts of medical students in the Netherlands, 27.7% of the required research projects became publications, and those who published reported more results after graduating (den Bakker et al., 2022). For the curriculum, this suggests a strategy: focus energy on a few well-conducted projects with a real chance of reaching the end.
How to keep it up to date
Record it right away
Note each activity in the same month it happens: the conference certificate, the published abstract, the start of a teaching assistantship. Keep the supporting documents in a folder organized by year. Many calls for applications require documents that prove what is in the curriculum.
A review every semester
At the end of each semester, open Lattes, check that everything has been recorded, update the summary and submit the new version. This takes less than an hour and avoids the rush on the eve of a call for applications.
Before each call for applications
Read the call and see which items it scores. Check that these items are recorded clearly and that the supporting documents are at hand. Each call has its own rules; the curriculum is the same, but the emphasis changes.
Without obsession
The curriculum records what you did, and it does not replace what you learn. Choosing activities only for the points they earn leads to a tiring routine and a curriculum without coherence. Activities that match your interests tend to yield more learning and, in the end, a better curriculum.
Activities and NEXO
The NEXO case of the day is a study practice, not a curriculum item. Each case is fictional, with a real clinical presentation, and the diagnosis arrives in up to six clues; playing regularly is reasoning practice, not academic output. The guide what NEXO is explains the whole game, and the release of the modes is on the NEXO economy page.
When it comes to real academic output, researchers in medical education, including groups with students, can propose studies through NEXO Researcher. If you coordinate a medical school, a student league or a residency, get to know NEXO Closer. Physicians who review cases take part through NEXO Curator, and those who create health content on social media can take part through NEXO Creators.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Lattes curriculum?
It is the standard academic curriculum in Brazil, kept on the CNPq Lattes Platform (CNPq, Plataforma Lattes).
Does a medical student need Lattes?
It is required in many calls for scholarships, teaching assistantships, mobility and graduate studies, and it is analyzed in some residency selections.
What should I put on Lattes at the start of the course?
The undergraduate course in progress, languages, events you took part in and your first activities, such as teaching assistantships, student leagues or projects.
Does a conference abstract count as a publication?
An abstract published in proceedings goes into the bibliographic output, separate from journal articles.
How often should I update it?
Record each activity in the month it happens and review the whole curriculum every semester.
Can I list work in progress?
Projects in progress, yes, in the projects section. Publications, only when the system allows the category and with the correct status.
Lattes checklist
- Create the curriculum and a researcher identifier.
- State your name in citations.
- Write a clear and current summary.
- Record each activity in the month it happens.
- Keep the receipts by year.
- Review every six months and before calls for proposals.
- Keep everything truthful and without duplicates.
Want to train your reasoning between one call for proposals and the next? Play the case of the day on NEXO.
References
- CNPq. Lattes Platform. Lattes Platform Portal. https://memoria.cnpq.br/web/portal-lattes/
- Nascimento JL, Nunes ED. Almost an autobiography: a study of social scientists in health based on the Lattes Curriculum. Cien Saude Colet. 2014. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24820590/
- Amorin CV. Curriculum vitae organization: the Lattes software platform. Pesqui Odontol Bras. 2003. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12937741/
- Hahamyan HA, Vasireddi N, Burns B, Bousquet SA, Gould HP. Increasing Trends in Matriculant Publications in the Residency Match: A Scoping Review. Cureus. 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39606496/
- den Bakker CR, Ommering BW, van Leeuwen TN, Dekker FW, De Beaufort AJ. Assessing publication rates from medical students' mandatory research projects in the Netherlands: a follow-up study of 10 cohorts of medical students. BMJ Open. 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35379628/
- Baker DR, Jackson VP. Misrepresentation of publications by radiology residency applicants. Acad Radiol. 2000. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10987335/
- Fanning JE, Lee D, Schuster K, Park JB, Escobar-Domingo MJ, Bommineni V, et al. Ghost Publications and Research Misrepresentation in the 2023-2024 Plastic Surgery Common Application. Ann Plast Surg. 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40167093/