Mara is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) in Spain. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and an M.Sc. in Evolutionary Biology from Complutense University of Madrid, as well as an M.Ed. in Teacher Training for Secondary Education from Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid.
She began her academic journey as a Master’s student at the Royal Botanic Garden (RJB) in Madrid, where she conducted research on the evolution and systematics of wood fungi. Mara then gained practical experience as a lab technician in two groups at the Spanish Nacional Center for Biotechnology (CNB, Madrid), focusing on structural studies of several types of viruses. She later worked as a research assistant at Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) in Stockholm, Sweden, where she gained insights into structural biology studies, including electron microscopy techniques.
Currently, Mara is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Lázaro’s group, conducting research on the evolutionary processes of RNA viruses. She is always looking to put her skills and knowledge to use in order to better understand viruses and their impact on evolution.
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