This blog post is about me and my personal experience on my way to uncover the black box called ‘bioinformatics’ or‘computational biology’. Many molecular biology researchers retreat upon hearing these words, because it is out of their expertise and also follows other rules than traditional lab work. I experienced that myself and I was one of them, until I took the risk to explore the ‘black box’.

​These are some of the things I heard myself say on the phone, talking about my new position. It took some time until I realized how crazy that sounded. The following is not an article, but a summary of my thoughts. 

Chilean Ob-Gyn starting a PhD at KU Leuven, Belgium.
31 YO, married, first kid on the way. 
 
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From attending lectures on extracellular vesicle (EV) research in dust to consuming smoked fish for breakfast; attending my first congress across the world in Japan was a surprising but amazing experience.  

When I received an email with the confirmation of my abstract being accepted for a poster presentation for a congress I wanted to attend since I started working within the field of EV research, I was over the moon. I couldn’t believe I was going to attend a conference in Japan until the moment I stepped out of the plane. It was surreal. So, tons of coffee later to deal with the 9-hour time difference and the worst travel companion (my poster which was at my side the whole 24-hour travel time), let me tell you about me surviving my first congress. ​

The University of Turin hosted the first iPLACENTA Network Meeting on June 13th-14th 2019. Early-stage researchers (ESRs), supervisors and coordinators gathered in the Italian sun for fruitful exchanges, giving opportunities for ESRs to receive expert feedback on their projects and discuss new collaborations within the consortium. Their first scientific posters and oral presentations, judged by external advisors, gave a great overview of all the work already accomplished within the first months. Summary: highly motivated members, and plenty of exciting perspectives for the coming years ! 

On the 4th of September 2018, after living for 4 years in Birmingham, my boyfriend and I left England and flew across the English Channel (or French, depending on which side you ask!) to start our new adventure in Paris. The first weeks, we were dazzled by the beauty of this city. Every corner you turn, you can admire the architecture of the flats all around, with those small chimneys that make you feel like you have been transported to Les Aristochats; the Seine is a breath of fresh air at the heart of the city, the trees run all across the streets and if it is a clear day, you can see everything turning to a pink hue at sunset. We discovered the joys of French cheese, with more than 400 varieties, and French boulangeries (bakeries), where I learnt my first important words “Je vais prendre une tartelette au citron meringuée, s’il vous plait”.  ​

March and April saw some of our early-stage researchers already presenting posters and visiting international conferences, in France, Ireland, the UK and Japan!