Keila Grinberg is an Associate Professor of History at the Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) and a researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil). She has been a visiting professor at Northwestern University (2009) , at the University of Michigan (2011⁄2012), at the University of Chicago (2015⁄2016) and at New York University (Spring 2018).

A specialist on 19th century slavery, her new project examines nineteenth century cases of kidnapping and illegal enslavement on the southern Brazilian border and their larger effects on the making of South American international relations Her book O fiador dos brasileiros: cidadania, escravidão e direito civil no tempo de Antonio Pereira Rebouças (Civilização Brasileira, 2002) is currently being translated into English (UNC Press). She has authored, coauthored, or edited various books and of articles in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and Russian.. With Hebe Mattos and Martha Abreu, she is currently directing the public digital history project Pasts Presents: memories of slavery in Brazil.