WOMEN IN SCIENCE Archives - Page 4 of 6

Today, February 11, in the “International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we highlight a simple equation: More women and girls in science equals better science,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. It’s an important day for promoting equitable access for women and girls in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Education research clearly shows that there is tremendous value in having scientists connect with students. When students see that scientists are real people like themselves, they are more likely to participate in science and consider science careers. And by actively promoting science in our everyday lives will empower our children to make informed decisions in the future.

Taking part in the International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebrations and the European Researchers’ Night 2023 initiative, yesterday, female researchers working at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory visited Escola Básica nº 2 de Lamaçães and showcased to the inspiring and interested students what science is all about. During this visit, we counted the participation of the Research Group Leader Begoña Espiña, Research Fellow Bruna Alves, PhD student Sara Resende and the Science Communicator Catarina Moura.

We also take this special day to thank all the women working at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. Thank you all for making science a journey of enchantment, mystery and discovery. Thank you for your constant work in making INL a more equitable, diverse and inclusive place. Today we celebrate you, your empowerment and your achievements. You are all true role models, never stop being who you are.

And stay tuned, in the upcoming weeks we will shine a spotlight on women in STEM with a new interview series with Women working in/with Science at INL. It’s important to celebrate the amazing contributions women make in science. Happy #WomeninScience day to all.

“Healthy food design” with Mahnoor Ayub

Meet Mahnoor Ayub, Research Fellow in the Food Processing and Nutrition research group at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. The focal point of her research includes the development of oleogels to be used in ice creams with enhanced health benefits. Her main objectives include researching novel ingredients that could replace or reduce fat content in ice creams with health benefits.

Mahnoor is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Scholar where she holds a triple Master degree in Food Innovation and Product Design (FIPDes) from 3 countries including France, Ireland and Italy.

Can you tell us a bit about your path, your main area of work, and the importance of your work?

Being a big-time foodie, food always fascinated me since my childhood. I was always amazed at how food and nutrition affect us in all stages of our lives. Given a choice, I opted for a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Nutrition as it fascinated me tremendously to study the science behind food how food is processed in the bodies, its relation to health and diseases and food processing in the industry. Therefore, I specialized in Nutrition and Dietetics where I learnt in-depth the relationship between food and nutrients with life and health.

After my bachelor’s, I worked as a nutritionist where I realised that it’s very hard for anyone to follow a strict diet plan for a long time and to always eat healthily. There, I developed a huge interest to develop healthy and sustainable food products that could be readily available to people on a commercial level. Therefore, to broaden my horizons, I was fortunate enough to win an Erasmus Mundus Master’s scholarship in “Food Innovation and Product Design” where I could actually experience the real essence of food systems while working on industrial and science-driven culinary and research-based projects in a multi-cultural work environment. I specialised in “Healthy Food Design” at the University of Naples (Italy) where I learned to develop healthy and innovative food products from scratch to commercialisation.

Currently, I am working as a `Product Development Food Scientist` at INL where my main area of work is the development of healthy and innovative food products. This innovative project involves the use of novel and functional ingredients like phytosterols, fibres, vitamins and proteins to be added to the ice cream to bring functional properties and health benefits.

There are many people who are health conscious or people with health issues that cannot enjoy simple things in life like enjoying ice cream, therefore, with the development of food products that are healthier than conventional ice cream, we can bring a difference to the table. With growing consumer interest and consciousness in food-related issues, it’s very important to introduce healthy alternatives in the market to meet consumers’ needs and make products that are sustainable for the planet.

Why did you decide to work for the development of functional ice creams with enhanced health benefits?

Ice cream is everyone´s favourite, including mine. When I read the project description, it instantly grasped my attention to work for ice creams. And why not, ice cream is a fascinating and delicious food product but, it also brings guilty pleasure to many of us. The idea of thinking outside of the box to use functional ingredients to bring nutritional and health benefits was a big take for me, especially to work on a product that is novel and not currently available in the market. After studying more about INL and the partner Ice cream Company, I became really interested in the project which would give me an opportunity to work in the industrial and research side simultaneously.

Even now, when I tell people in simple language (not in scientific language), that I am working on the development of healthy ice creams, I could simply see the joy on their faces just by listening to the words “ice cream”. This project will bring something new to the food market and people with health issues can also enjoy “ice cream” in a healthy way.

If you weren’t a Researcher, what would you be doing?

That’s a tough question. I have been interested in many things but I if was not researcher, I would have been an entrepreneur. From time to time, I think of many business ideas that revolve around food and sometimes, some other non-edible products as well. That’s a plan for the future, which eventually will be executed, hopefully in the near future. But, I guess, even for that, I need to be a good researcher, to research the market and to work on the product. So, this research part would stick with me even if I am doing something else.

Catarina Moura, following a different path in science

Information and misinformation are everyday attitudes and actions. We find ourselves in the midst of so many problems where science might offer at least partial solutions and understanding. Science also may help us avoid more of the problems science has already caused. Access to science and its benefits and opportunities is uneven across the world—as is the production of scientific knowledge and it is in our hands to tackle this problem and help transform doubts and concerns into true and easy-to-access information and knowledge.

Science communication is the ability to explain science and scientific research to different audiences. A science communicator is someone who bridges the gap between science and the public. It’s the starter of a long conversation, the promoter of awe and curiosity while encouraging the audience to also contribute with their own questions, concerns or ideas.

In these challenging times – the war, the pandemic, the climate crisis, and concerns over new technologies – we present you Catarina Moura, Science Communicator Officer at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory within the Communication, Conferences and Marketing unit.

Catarina has an active role in supporting the INL research community to carry out research and innovation-oriented activities of relevance for communication. She also coordinates science communication initiatives that range from the organisation of scientific events to the establishment of relationships with the media, scientific experts, universities, and other research organisations.

Could you take us through your professional life and the different roles you have played throughout your career?

I have worked as a scientist in the past years.

I studied Bioengineering at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, my Master‘s thesis was in the field of Nanomedicine, and I have a PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Southampton, in the UK.

Throughout my career, I have always been involved in science communication.

I was part of the British Roadshow “Bringing Research to Life” team – which is an itinerant platform designed to help researchers share their work with the general public; and I participated in many international festivals like Glastonbury, working at the Science Tent, and the Cheltenham Science Festival,

I also worked at the Doctoral College in the UK, and my main responsibilities included the organisation of scientific activities for researchers as well as for non-scientific audiences.

What sparked your interest in science communication? What made you so passionate about it?

I was always driven by the excitement of discovering new things, solving problems, and getting things done – and being a full-time scientist looked like the perfect fit for a recently-awarded PhD student.

However, I have to confess that it has been a mammoth task to discover the best career to match my skills, personality, and passions. And it continues to be. In my dream job, I would be using my interpersonal and communication skills, solving problems and learning new topics, while being surrounded by nature and having a positive impact on our society and the World.

Coming from a scientific background, and having management, research and writing skills, it seemed to me like a natural step to become a science communicator.

In recent times, there has been a lot of talk about how the media misleads the non-academic community by misreporting scientific data or facts. What are your views on this?

I think there’s a communication gap between scientists and society, and that’s why science communication is so important. It’s important that we, scientists, are more open about how research works and all the uncertainties involved.

Usually, the media shares with the public the final results of a finished project, a ‘Eureka’ moment of a particular research group, or an interview with a scientist that was granted an international award. The general public is not aware that science is not a collection of facts that tell us what we know about the world. Science is a method of discovery.

Scientists make hypotheses, derive predictions, and then carry out experiments based on those predictions. And we need to combine our efforts to better communicate science and engage different audiences.

Could you share some advice for researchers trying to communicate their research to the non-academic community?

Science communication is important for many reasons: to address urgent issues (such as the climate crisis), to educate and inform the public and decision-makers, to make science more transparent, and to inspire communities and the next generations. And the communication of science can be delivered in a range of formats, such as news pieces, articles, books, podcasts, videos, music and theatre.

Finally, it’s important to remember that working in a team is key – people with different backgrounds and know-how bring different perspectives, and potentially this leads to more creativity and productivity (and fun!).

+ www.scaleexperiences.inl.int

Meet Sarah Azinheiro, granted AOAC INTERNATIONAL/Eurofins Foundation “Testing for Life” Student Award

Meet Sarah Azinheiro, PhD at the INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory as an FCT Research Fellow in the Food Quality and Safety Research Group. Sarah won the “Testing for Life” Student Award from the AOAC/Eurofins Foundation and she is involved in several projects related to the development of innovative and faster detection methods for pathogenic microorganisms and allergens, based on DNA analysis.

Her background is focused on genetic and molecular biology research in different areas, from plant biology to microorganism studies, where she has been taking part in several research groups. Sarah’s been increasingly requested to teach in health, microbiology and biotech areas.

Congratulations on the AOAC INTERNATIONAL/EurofinsFoundation “Testing for Life” Student Award. Can you tell us about your path at INL and the importance of this award in your career?

I started at INL by participating in the 2015 summer internship initiative. A few months later the opportunity arose and I got accepted as a research laboratory assistant in the Food Quality and Safety group, by 2017 I got into a PhD program in Santiago de Compostela and by 2018 I was awarded an FCT scholarship to support the development of my project at INL.

The “Testing for Life” Student Award, supported by contributions from the Eurofins Foundation, is designed to encourage student researchers to advance basic or applied science in analytical or molecular testing for food safety, food security, food defence, food authenticity, or health and environmental protection.

The “Testing for Life” Student Award means my research and academic performance have been acknowledged. It’s proof that I am on the right path and that in Portugal you can also do research of international quality.

Why did you decide to take a PhD on “Fast, Affordable and multiplexed foodborne pathogen detection on miniaturised devices”?

Being involved in the different projects held at INL, and seeing the possibilities of the miniaturised devices for various applications, I’ve felt the need for simpler, faster and more sensitive detection of pathogens in the food industry. This desire and need meant a new opportunity and a new focus on my passion for microbiology and molecular biology techniques in specific applications.

How would you explain the importance of your work area to a non-scientific person?

Despite the effort to ensure the safety of food products the outbreaks persist, the World Health Organization (WHO) state that nearly 1 in 10 people around the world falls ill after eating contaminated food, each year. The actual pressure in the food system made the products to reach the consumer increasingly faster, giving a short time to analyse the food to ensure its safety. Because of this the analysis for the detection of pathogens need to be improve as is still can take 1 week to have the results, which is not suitable with the intense food production of nowadays.

The automation in miniaturised devices can help to make the analysis less laborious and without the need of specialised personal, laboratories and even allow to reduce the cost of the analysis by using smaller volumes.

What inspires you about science and how can you inspire future students to follow this path?

To be a scientist is to be always looking for the latest developments and answers on the field you’re most passionate about. Not only do I, as scientist, can see the future of my field, but I’m also contributing to improving it, leaving my mark in the world.

How many professions do you know that can say the same?

Photovoltaic (PV) applications a path to the future, an interview with Jennifer Teixeira

Jennifer Teixeira holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Aveiro. She dedicated her research to understanding the impact of absorbers’ electronic structure on chalcogenide (ultra)thin-film solar cells’ performance. Jennifer trusts that a solid fundamental knowledge of materials’ properties is critical for a continuous fostering of innovative materials through the rational use of natural resources, in order to meet the urge for sustainable energy solutions, suiting the circular economy principle.

Tell us about your experience and path at INL

I’m a Research Fellow at the Nanofabrication for Optoelectronic Applications (NOA) group since June 2019. In the group, I’m involved in the research line for the development and fabrication of high-performance substrates, based on passivation and light management strategies, for photovoltaic (PV) applications.

I came from a more fundamental and theoretical material science background, and at NOA I had the opportunity to apply my previous know-how in a more technological ecosystem through several H2020, FCT, and PT2020 projects.

You’ve been recently granted FCT support for Scientific Employment as Junior Researcher. Can you tell us how this project will help your career goals?

The CEEC Individual funding will allow me to work on fundamental material science applied to energy transition systems. The aim of the project is to design and develop nano- and multi-layered structures to perfectly meet the weaknesses of already existing technologies. So far, this project opens a new research line for advanced tailored materials in the NOA Research Group; thus, we expect to create a solid path on the topic of functionalised materials, which will encourage new funding opportunities on the matter.

How would you explain the importance of your research to a non-scientific person?

Despite the obvious need for clean and sustainable energy systems, we are now witnessing the importance to have decentralized energy solutions. So far, this 2022 scenario asks for fast time-to-market energy solutions, as emerging technologies will struggle to meet the current needs in a short time span.

One emerging concept that meets perfectly the decentralization label is the building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), which provides a spatial solution to incorporate PV systems into buildings, allowing for hundreds of GW to be installed worldwide without requiring any additional land. Moreover, this energy supply concept is the segment that best fits the current urbanization scenario. However, there are still several challenges for BIPV to overcome.

Here at NOA, we explore novel solar cell concepts for traditional 2nd PV generation fostering high performance, while meeting environmental and economically sustainable targets; more recently we started looking for solutions that gather conversion efficiency, durability, and aesthetics to meet the building industry stakeholders for BIPV.

What inspires you and excites you about science?

Science and R&D as key dimensions of meaningful work. So, knowing that the small prototypes that we are developing on a day-to-day basis have a much broader purpose. In our case, we are looking for a more sustainable energy system.

Building a new future, an interview with Andrea Gouvêa

Andrea Gouvêa is a research engineer in the Micro and Nanofabrication facility at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory providing technical and hands-on expertise on advanced systems and techniques.

She has an MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Coimbra where she worked in the development of an electronic system for Time-of-Light (TOF) Positron-Emission Tomography (PET) using Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detectors. She obtained her Ph.D. in Physics Engineering from the University of Coimbra where an X-ray detection system for the determination of the Lamb Shift was developed and implemented.

Can you tell us what you are working on at present?

Presently I’m working on several industry projects and supporting a few internal projects as a process integrator in the Micro and Nanofabrication Facility. Those projects are covering areas from medical, technology to energy devices’ development, few of them to be scaled up to mass production.

Why did you decide to work in the Microfabrication area?

I was in the right place at the right time. I confess that if you told me 15 years ago that I would be working in this area, I would probably have said that I would not have that chance. However the future had other plans for me and in 2016 I joined a big packaging company – Amkor, and that was when I jumped into this world. I got very excited to be part of this micro and nanofabrication “world” always challenging Moore’s Law and decided to stay on board and learn more. Every day is a challenge and the final fabrication results can be applied in very different areas, spanning from automotive to medical applications, covering telecommunications… in the end, we are everywhere!

How do you see the development of Microfabrication and Exploratory Nanotechnology?

This area is in continuous growth every day, having as final general objective to burst the quality of life of society! (It is so that the growth of this area I can simply say it is almost impossible to be aware of all the innovation groups are developing here). But if you think that 20 years ago you had telephones at home to phone ‘Granny’ and you just listen to her voice and nowadays, I phone her using my mobile phone and at the same time I can see her, it is really comforting! The same technology brought the quality of life and wellness in areas such as medicine.

Nowadays we have labs on chips when one or two decades ago, we needed big laboratories, reagents, among others. For instance, diabetes, before you needed to prick yourself twice or even more per day to see your glucose levels and nowadays we have a sensor you can implant in your skin and it’s monitoring your levels for a few days in a continuous mode and the data can be seen in your mobile phone, you can also receive alerts and inform your relatives of your health condition. So, technology is improving a lot every day and one key factor is the fabrication of micro and nanodevices!

What inspires you and excites you about science?

What excites me more is knowing that science is one of the most amazing ways to obtain freedom! It is one of the humanity pillars. It is the way to understand human life and the universe and to improve our standard parameters on the quality of life.

My daily inspiration is to know that each day I learn something new, and that information somehow will serve to help Humanity and younger people that will continue to develop these new technologies, take them further and have new ones! Building the future one day at a time.

“Biosensors as key elements in the future of water quality”, interview with Raquel Queirós

Raquel Queirós is a staff researcher in the Water Quality Research Group at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. Her main research interests include label-free detection methods for life science applications, new biomimetic materials as molecular recognition probes and engineering solutions for water quality monitoring.

She joined INL as a NanoTRAINforGrowth Marie Curie Research Fellow in 2014, where she started working on the development of new nanomaterial-based sensors for water biotoxins monitoring.

What got you interested in this field?

I think it came up naturally since my background is in chemical engineering which was much centred in the development of advanced knowledge concerning chemical and biological processes optimisation and integration, but always pursuing advances in the main areas of environment and energy. During my Master, I worked in the development of chemical sensors very focused on the analytic part yet during my PhD I build up my expertise in biosensors since I’ve been dedicated to the development of the devices on a full scale, from understanding biochemical interactions to signal transducers and systems integration.

What is the importance of your research?

The immense potential in what concerns possible applications of this type of devices, from agricultural, environmental and food sciences to wearables and clinical diagnostics, and particularly in resource-limited environments, that are powerful analytical tools which bring huge advantages when compared to conventional analytical techniques. The growing demand for cost-effective, fast, real-time reliable information in a massively connected world it is of utmost importance. The capabilities of these devices go beyond the measuring ability, they can provide critical information directly to users or be available remotely.

What was the most striking time you have during your career?

I would say my PhD, it was a time of many changes that brought lots of challenges, I came from a group dedicated to analytical chemistry and I integrated a group of physicists devoted to the development of optical fibre sensors. I had to learn a lot of new concepts and disciplines, and a completely new mode of working. I worked for the first time in a clean room, in fact in several, so different. I lived abroad for the first time and I met incredible people, and places.

Briefly, what excites you about your work and how do you juggle motherhood and Research?

That we can always improve and do better.

It was very demanding in the beginning, I felt that I was not in the best of my capacities/abilities and that I was doing a job that was not the best I could do. Now, since I can sleep more than two hours in a row, it is much easier. But it requires a lot of organisation and always has a backup plan ready.

“The utopia of curing lives”, interview with Sara Abalde-Cela

Sara Abalde-Cela is a Staff Researcher at INL. She works at the Department of Life Sciences, within the Medical Devices group. The research project she is involved in focuses on the development of microfluidic platforms for the detection of cancer cells, as a continuation of her Marie Curie project (2017-2019). The goal of her project is to develop a real-time and on-chip method for circulating tumour cell detection based on Surface enhanced-Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy.

Can you tell us what you are working on at present?

I am now currently developing a research line based on the combination of plasmonic nanoparticles and microfluidics to create novel platforms to diagnose, monitor and understand cancer. Based on my former experience in a very sensitive detection technique, surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy (SERS) during my PhD in Vigo (Spain) and my background in microfluidics at the University of Cambridge (UK) I have come to understand that by taking advantage of the assets offered by both we can advance beyond the state of the art in biosensing. I am particularly interested in exploring the role of single-cells in cancer development, to pinpoint those cells that are more aggressive and try to understand the mechanisms that drive those cells to kick-off the metastatic cascade. We are currently involved in a plethora of projects that range from skin implants to monitor cancer metabolites and single-cell proliferation in microdroplets to the diagnosis of point mutations in POC devices or analysis of body fluids of cancer patients.

Why did you decide to work in the Medical Devices area?

As a child, I wanted to be a medical doctor. And, as every little child interested in medicine, I lived in the utopia of wanting to cure lives. Though, I turned into a chemist by background, with the aim of using this knowledge to understand things and create solutions. I have always been amazed by how nature has put together all the Lego pieces to create all sorts of alive entities, especially humans. Also, I like contributing to society and to the general knowledge in science applied to the healthcare sector. However, me ending at the Medical Devices group was also a bit of role of chance, combined with an exercise of patience and resilience until I got to apply my scientific knowledge to my targeted area of interest. When I was finishing my bachelor I had an internship at the Organic Chemistry lab, which as an undergrad in Chemistry I thought it would be the closest discipline to medicine in this field. It was a complete disappointment though, and I moved to the physical chemistry lab to do my PhD in nanotechnology. It was then when I discovered the potential of technology as a whole. I would define myself now as a dedicated technologist. My developments during the PhD were all in the fundamental science side of things, but quite insightful in terms of the power of nanotechnology. After, I moved to a postdoc in which I found one of my other passions: microdroplets. Microdroplets are fun, much much fun! They are like tiny microbubbles in where you can do all sorts of reactions to understand how tiny things work and interact with each other. It was back then when I realised that the combination of my expertise could have a real impact in the medical area, which was my target from the beginning. And it was finally then when I felt ready to join INL in a project fully dedicated to cancer. Since joining INL back in 2017 I have been expanding and pursuing the research lines of my interest supported by an amazingly dedicated group of people in the Medical Devices group and in the Microfluidics Lab.

How do you see the development of microfluidic platforms?

My first contact with microfluidics was in my first visiting exchange during the PhD in 2009 to the Microdroplets group in Cambridge (UK). It was only a few years back when worldwide scientific leaders like George Whitesides started to publish and speak about microfluidics. So, I was lucky enough to be involved in one of the pioneering research groups of microfluidics in Europe. The development of microfluidics in the last decade rose steeply and it is one of the leading markets in technology applied to the healthcare sector. I would say that with microfluidics all is possible. We can miniaturise so we save energy and resources – aligned with the Green Deal European focus – we can streamline processes and do things extremely fast – we save time which is worth money-, and we can have extremely fine control over the things we are doing inside the chip. I would say that microfluidics is being and will be one of the most influential technologies for the development of platforms for point-of-care devices. Also, all the hype around organ-on-a-chip places microfluidics at the forefront of the technologies of the decade, and we hope the hype to become a reality!

How would you explain the importance of your work area to a non-scientific person?

That is an easy job because working in cancer means we have half of the job done. Unfortunately, we have all known people, friends and family that were affected by cancer. In this sense, it is easy to get people´s attention. I tend to be quite generic when I speak to a person that has a non-scientific background. I like to say that we use very tiny particles (or balls depending on the educational and age level of the audience) to see if a person has cancer, and if it has cancer if the therapy is working, and if the therapy is working to make sure that this person remains cancer-free after being considered cured. This would be the most practical part of my work, the most applied one, and the easiest to explain. It is way more difficult when we try to explain the importance of the more fundamental developments. For example, when I explain that I am studying single-cells and their functional impact in different diseases, I like to use the sibling comparison. If two siblings are not the same and have different behaviours, because they have been originated from different individual cells, then the individual cells that may or may not undergo cancer development are also different. What if we could know from the beginning if one of the siblings is going to be the naughty one? What if we could know from the beginning which cells are going to be responsible for cancer development? This is obviously a very naïve and simplistic explanation, but something that our non-scientific audiences relate to easily.

What inspires you and excites you about science?

The look of an atom at the electron microscope, “sightseeing” cells from a patient at the microfluidic chip, the peak at the spectrum that means yes or no to a disease, to a protein, to a nucleic acid or to a molecule. The continuous exchange of ideas, the intellectual challenge and motivation, the first-hand access to groundbreaking developments and information before it reaches society. It also excites me seeing how a student evolves, how we can transfer knowledge and motivate new generations, and also how we can keep learning from people more senior than us. The exchange and the exposure to different cultures, different mindsets and different ways of being. After all, who would not want to be at the first row in the theatre of scientific discoveries?

Celebrating WOMEN IN SCIENCE: Interview with Joana Guerreiro

Joana Guerreiro is a Research Fellow at Food & Quality Research Group at INL. Currently, she integrates a project which aims the amplification and detection of environmental DNA (eDNA) of invasive species. Her main goal is to develop and design an optical biosensor for eDNA detection from water samples. Portability and point of care detection is also an important project task therefore microfluidics could also play an important role in the overall device.

Her research interests cover the continuous development of (nano)optical biosensors devices and further application of these devices in environment, health and food chemistry.

What got you interested in the Food Quality and Safety field?

I would say, food-related topics were part of my personal interest since I remember! It started when I gained conscious that “we are what we eat”. Then I became aware of the role of food quality and safety on the health of end-consumers. I believe the society now is more and more aware that food safety does not start on our plates/supermarkets, but way before… Our food starts to be produced in farms and crops followed by the whole production line until reaching consumers. As an enthusiast of animal rights (I’m an animal lover) and environment protection, I started to see the big picture.

If people want quality food, they need to care about animal welfare, misuse of pesticides to maximize crops production and environmental contamination. In fact, as consumers, we have a saying just by deciding about the products we buy. Therefore, I see Food Safety and Quality as a topic which involves many other relevant fields as a whole such as the environment.

From the scientific point of view, my master was already in the field of Food Quality and Safety where I have developed low-cost devices to detect the presence of antibiotics (some supposed to be banned from production) in water and fish from aquaculture. Later on, during my PhD I was focused on studying sensorial quality parameters of wine. Nowadays, here at INL, I was mostly devoted to developing sensors to identify food fraud and specific microorganisms of interest.

How would you explain the importance of your research to a non-scientific person?

I have been working with DNA biosensors applied to food quality and safety. The reason we use DNA is that it contains genetic information which is unique for each organism (bacteria, plant or animal). Therefore, we can use DNA based biosensors to identify specific species. In food adulteration, for example, olive oil can be mixed with other oils (e.g. palm oils), and just by looking or even tasting it we will never be able to know. Consumers might be paying for an authentic product but instead getting an adulterated one. By using these sensors we can check for food fraud and protect consumers.

Our research can also be applied to the detection of food pathogens. Food may become contaminated at any point from production to distribution. Good practices were already implemented to minimize food contaminations however there is still a large incidence of foodborne diseases. At the Food Quality and Safety Group, we develop tools to identify foodborne pathogens which can be used at any stage of food chain production. This way, producers address within a few hours if their products are safe to distribute or sale to end-consumers. With these devices, food production can also be more efficient by reducing production losses. More importantly, consumers have safer products which have a huge impact on public health.

What inspires you and excites you about science?

What really excites me about science is its unlimited potential to change and improve people’s life and the whole planet. Trying to discover the unknown, understanding mechanisms and develop tools, which could contribute to improving the overall quality of life, is my driven motivation. I would like to help change the world to a better place, so if I have a contribution even if super tiny I will be super happy.

In terms of inspiration, most of the times I would say nature. When doing research, somehow the answers you are looking for, are just ahead and often by observing nature you can learn from it. Science can also be scary, thus as a scientist, you also have to use the acquired knowledge in a responsible way.

How do you see the future of your Research?

My research is focused on the development of tools applied to different fields, however as mentioned before, the impact in public health and environment are my priorities. I also target the use of sustainable, “green” and affordable materials and devices which can be also available for poor countries.

As a scientist, we need to be “open” to re-question knowledge considered as a fact therefore I would like to keep my mind open for the future and do my best.

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Her research interests cover the continuous development of (nano)optical biosensors devices and further application of these devices in environment, health and food chemistry.

What got you interested in the Food Quality and Safety field?

How would you explain the importance of your research to a non-scientific person?

What inspires you and excites you about science?

How do you see the future of your Research?

As a scientist, we need to be “open” to re-question knowledge considered as a fact therefore I would like to keep my mind open for the future and do my best.