PhD Student
Maria
Who am I?
Coming from Barcelona, I started on the lab bench during my BSc degree in Human Biology (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), but now computers have become my hands for doing science. During my masters, I got experience in modelling biological processes in the fields of cognitive science (MSc in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona) and synthetic biology (MSc in Systems and Synthetic Biology, Université d’Évry-Val-d’Essonne/Paris-Saclay, Évry), and I decided to become a theoretical biologist. During my PhD, I am working on the integration of eco-evolutionary dynamics in agriculture, to design novel strategies for crop rotations.
Research interests
My current interests follow two (related) topics: (I) how can we apply the knowledge of evolutionary theory and ecology to understand better disease-related problems, and (II) how does human action affect population dynamics, focusing in host-pathogen interactions. For this, I work on agroecosystems, in which host-pathogen coevolution locates in the interplay between artificial and natural selection forces. Particularly, I design crop rotations patterns that can potentially mitigate pathogen spread by using resistant crops. My work also aims to promote sustainable practices, and in the near future, I will integrate economic criteria in my model.
Keywords
- Theoretical biology
- Translational eco-evolutionary biology
- Population dynamics under artificial selection
- Sustainable agriculture
- Complex systems
- Synthetic biology
Conferences, workshops and research visits
2019
- Short talk at European Ecological Federation congress (29th July to 2nd August, Lisbon, PT)
- Research visit to Rothamsted Research (6th to 31st May, Harpenden, UK)
2018
- Poster at Münster Evolution Meeting (4th to 6th October, Münster, DE)
- Short talk at Evolution Montpellier (18th to 22nd August, Montpellier, FR)
- Participant of Winter Workshop on Complex Systems (28th January to 3rd February, Utrecht, NL)
2017
- Poster at Kiel Life Science Student Conference (23rd November, Kiel, DE)
- Short talk at Symposium on Pathogen Evolution (20th and 21st July, Kiel, DE)
- Short talk and organisation of Aquavit Internal MPI Symposium (6th and 7th July, Plön, DE)