I was born in Romania, but I moved to Spain when I was only 4 years old. I completed my Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. At that time, I realized my special interest in Cellular Biology and Molecular Biology. It was during my Bachelor thesis that I was first introduced to cardiovascular sciences where I was studying endothelial cells. Following my BSc I moved to Germany where I received my Master of Science degree at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany. I did my Master thesis at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Germany where I discovered I had a passion for microscopy and research and wanted to continue my studies and do a PhD.
The TAPAS EJD-ITN has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to combine my research interests with the opportunity to travel. During the first and third year of my joint-PhD degree I will be at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK, under the supervisor of Prof. S.P. Watson and Dr. N. Poulter. For the second year, I will be based in Germany at the University of Wurzburg under the supervision of Prof. B. Nieswandt and Dr. D. Stegner. In the course of the first year, I will be doing a secondment at the University of Rijeka, Croatia, under the supervision of Dr. A. Begonja.
The aim of my TAPAS project is to understand the role of the cytoskeleton in regulating the platelet receptor GPVI signalling and platelet activation. For that reason, I will focus on Rac1, a protein which is critically involved in actin cytoskeleton regulation and I will be using a combination of advanced microscopy and biochemical techniques to answer the question.