Where Ideas Grow
Bárbara Noronha Bastos
Visiting Scientists

I am a molecular biologist, in ongoing development with a personal interest for evolutionary processes, genetics and physiological molecular networks. My main drive in biology is to investigate, combining diverse fields and tools for answering questions, about how molecular mechanisms of physiological processes have been evolving. For that, I acquired a heterogeneous training. A Bachelor's in Animal science and technology, where I studied the influence of the diet's composition and water quality on the turbot's (Psetta massima) body composition, in a fish farm (2017); A Masters in Molecular and Cell Biology, where I developed many laboratory skills and techniques using Drosophila as model, where I studied the Regucalcin Evolution and Gene Function at IBMC, i3S (2018-2019). In 2016 I performed an ERASMUS+ mobility at Czech University of life Sciences, in Prague. Thanks to interaction with the best Portuguese and international researchers in i3S network, I realized the importance of academia , and that fact encouraged even more me to become a part of it. I want to bring knowledge to the community and grow scientifically, while defending a very personal and current cause, which is biodiversity conservation. From that, the logical thought was to apply for a PhD in Biodiversity. Therefore, currently I am a 3rd year PhD student of biodiversity, genetics and evolution (BIODIV) at Faculty of Science of the University of Porto, learning a lot of new tools and conducting my research on Heterothermy in mammals (using rodents as model), in the BIODESERTS group of CIBIO-InBIO. Joined the Maxx Planck institute in a collaboration project undercovering the protein biology and evolution mechanisms of aggression in a testosterone-binding protein in P. calidrix working together with Alex Zemella. Joined i3s in a collaboration studying molecular thermal physiology with labboratory mice in LAS team of i3s, under the supervision of Nuno Franco. During and even after my PhD, I hope that I can continue a passion that I exercised regularly, which is teaching, and to continue to question myself every day on what I could experiment next and learn in order to achieve it. My plans for the future are to be a strong scientist and to expand and transmit my knowledge as far as I can, in molecular biology and biodiversity genetic resources conservation areas. Additional info: I already worked in as a Zootechnic engineer. Key words: Molecular biology, evolution, Phenotypic Evolution, Genetics, Ecophysiology, Gene expression, Protein-ligand and protein-protein docking, Bioinformatics, Zoology.