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ABOUT ME

To me, doing research is a way of living in constant adventure of discovery and overcoming challenges. Keeping my mind "on the move" and always looking for answers is something that has always characterized me, and I believe makes me richer as a scientist and as a person. I therefore try to take the most of the vibrant and exciting life that the academic career entails, not only professionally, but also personally. Beautiful and rewarding as it is, I soon found out this is not an easy task at all! Dealing with permanent uncertainty, competition and difficulties is an intrinsic part of being an early career scientist. Finding harmony and keeping the motivation up among the chaos is a delicate balance many of us scientists face daily. When giving the best of yourself, however, tough times often come hand in hand with great personal and professional rewards.

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As a woman in science, I have also experienced how the academic environment can be unwelcoming or harsh because of not fitting into a particular social pattern or majority. I feel strongly committed to pursuing that everyone in my working or personal environment is treated equally, and given equal opportunities to learn, grow and achieve their goals.

New and exciting research challenges

as a Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Fellow (2022)

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I have recently started a MSCA Fellowship at the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, with Dr. Jesús Martínez-Padilla´s group, and including two secondment stays at Dr. Mark Ravinet´s lab at the University of Nottingham. I will study the associations between epigenetic potential and natal dispersal across spatial and temporal scales, using the Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) as a study species. During my 2-year project (GENESPERSIVE) I hope to train myself as an independent researcher, expand my expertise towards new disciplines (i.e. genomics, bioinformatics), and develop a collaborative international network (which hopefully will remain afterwards!). 

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Back "home" as a Juan de la Cierva Fellow (2020-2022)

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I became a member of the Behavioural Ecology and Endocrinology lab as a Juan de la Cierva fellow (granted by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities). My research during this project focused on the molecular drivers of early life effects in the spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor), by investigating the links between early life adversity and the expression of key genes mediating physiological, behavioural and immunological responses to environmental challenges.

New and exciting postdoc paths (2019-2020)

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During my first postdoc in the US (Prof. Creagh Breuner's lab, University of Montana) I conducted parallel field and lab projects on different study species, combining them with mentoring master and bachelor students, ongoing international collaborations, and grant proposal writing.

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In one of this projects, I investigated glucocorticoid variation in free-living tree swallows to better understand the relationships between glucocorticoid regulation, metabolism and reproductive success in the wild.

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PhD times among canals (2014-2018)

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My enthusiasm about research took me to carry out my PhD thesis abroad, in The Netherlands (Supervisor: Prof. Simon Verhulst, University of Groningen) and Germany (Supervisor: Prof. Michaela Hau, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology). My PhD project allowed me to expand my research topics into ecophysiology, broadening my interests and skills into endocrinology, metabolism and ecological epigenetics, among others. You can access my PhD thesis here.

Early steps (2010-2013)

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Coming from a small town in northern Spain, I got my BSc in Biology from the Complutense University in Madrid. During these years I also spent four months as a research student in the Natural Sciences Museum, and three months as a research fellow in the Idaho Bird Observatory (US). 

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I got my MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology from the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville, Spain), and after that I moved back to Madrid and spent one year doing research at the Behavioral Ecology and Endocrinology lab led by Dr. Diego Gil in the Natural Sciences Museum in Madrid.

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