Nina Guerra Serén

I completed my graduation in Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) in 2011 and obtained my MSc degree in Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution at the same institution in 2013. During my MSc I studied the molecular evolution and functional divergence of metallothionein genes using computational tools and performed ecotoxicological assays in amphibian larvae (Epidalea calamita).

Subsequently I worked as a research technician for three years studying adaptation to environmental change of a desert specialist rodent (Jaculus jaculus), focusing on phenotypic analysis (colouration), candidate colour gene genotyping, phylogenetics, niche modelling and genome-wide divergence. 

In 2017 I was awarded a PhD scholarship to study an endemic insular lizard (Gallotia galloti), which experiences extreme environmental variation along a 3.5 km altitudinal gradient. During the PhD I implemented a multidisciplinary approach merging ecological fieldwork, physiological and metabolism testing, age assessment and genomic tools to uncover the mechanisms that mediate adaptation to these unique conditions in this lizard.

Presently I am working as a postdoctoral lab technician with the BIODESERTS group at BIOPOLIS-CIBIO, working in a project that aims to characterize desert fauna and flora using DNA barcoding and metabarcoding methods.