Juliana dos Santos

I am a PhD student in the BIODIV Doctoral Programme and an FCT doctoral fellow at BIOPOLIS/CIBIO-InBIO, co-hosted by the Côa Valley Foundation. My research focuses on developing methodologies to quantify lichen-rock interactions to support the conservation and monitoring of open-air rock art, particularly in the Côa Valley, Portugal (UNESCO World Heritage Site).

I hold an MSc in Water Resources Management and Regulation from UFBA (Brazil), where I developed Hidrotoxic - a patented mobile application providing data on pesticides in Brazilian drinking water - and an MBA in Environmental Management from UFPR (Brazil).

Before starting my PhD, I worked as a laboratory technical assistant at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (Germany) within the KarOLa project, supporting the in vitro propagation of potato plants and the organisation of experimental data. I also contributed to botanical and herbarium collections at the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History (Germany) and the Natural History Museum of Basel (Switzerland), focusing on specimen digitisation, georeferencing, and data integration into international platforms. In addition, I volunteered with the NGO Bachpaten (Germany) on urban stream restoration and environmental education initiatives.

My current research interests lie at the intersection of lichen ecology and biogeosciences, with a particular focus on the biodeterioration of rock surfaces and the conservation of cultural heritage. I am deeply committed to science communication and interested in developing digital tools to support public engagement and biodiversity monitoring.