I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Software Engineering Center at VCU.

Previously, I was a professor in the Computer Science Graduate Program at Salvador University (Brazil) from 2013 to 2022, a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and a Visiting Researcher at the Fraunhofer Center for Experimental Software Engineering in Maryland (2011–2012). I completed my Ph.D. at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

My research interests lie broadly in the areas of Technical Debt in Software Projects, Empirical Software Engineering, SE4AI, and the Engineering of AI Systems for Health.

In 2021, I was recognized by a study published in the Journal of Systems & Software as one of the Top 10 Most Impactful Software Engineering Researchers at the consolidators level. I also received the Research Productivity Distinction Grant from the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq), an award given to the most productive researchers in their respective fields in Brazil. In 2024, I received the VCU National/International Recognition Award (NIRA) in recognition of my research impact and leadership in Software Engineering.

Department of Computer Science
College of Engineering
Virginia Commonwealth University
VCU College of Engineering - East Hall
401 W. Main Street, Room ERB 2322
Richmond, VA  23284
Email:  spinolaro@vcu.edu