Briefly, tell us about your background and career up to this point?
I have a background in Biotechnology, earning my degree and Master’s in Sanitary Biotechnology from Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, Spain. My PhD research at the University of Salamanca focused on how cells divide in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe).
After working in functional genomics with budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in Barcelona, I moved to King’s College London, where I study a unique type of cell division in another fission yeast species (Schizosaccharomyces japonicus).
What advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?
Enjoy life.
Do you have any current projects that you’d like to tell us about?
I’m currently learning game development and learning Japanese by self-teaching.
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
I would like to consolidate my scientific career during my postdoc stage, continuing working on basic research on diverse aspects of cell division in simple yet powerful systems such as yeast. However, I’m also open to branching out to other model organisms to validate my findings and transitioning into applied research when opportunities arise.
What is something positive that happened to you over the last year?
I am profoundly happy to have been granted the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant. This is very good news for the lab and for my financial support for the next years, as well as for the quality of my CV.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
Due to the huge amount of work and professional and personal dedication that it involves, I would say that writing and defending my thesis has been my biggest success.
What is your favourite part of your role?
I enjoy the flexibility and independence in organising my schedule and tackling the biological challenges that arise daily in the lab.
QUICK-FIRE:
Favourite scientist: Robert Oppenheimer
Netflix recommendation: The three-body problem (series)
Describe yourself in three words… methodical, overthinker, curious