Carmen was born in Málaga, in the bosom of a family with a musical tradition. However, she decided to put away her academic training in classical music and focused herself in her real passion, science.
She studied the Degree in Biochemistry with Biotechnology Mention and then, she moved to Barcelona to perform her MS’s thesis in C. elegans. During this period, she discovered the power of these small nematodes to unravel questions in biomedical research but also to develop and apply technics for gene engineering. She then decided to continue her scientific career by performing a PhD in Biomedicine at the Pompeu Fabra University, which she obtained with the highest mark. In the course of this investigation, she used C. elegans to go deeper into the basis of the chemotherapeutic agent toxicity, develop a model to study the relevance of human mutations, and also improving the use of CRISPR technology in this model organism. In addition, during this period, she moved to Helsinki and Düsseldorf to perform research stays, which have enriched her in both professional and personal level.
After 5 years of training in C. elegans, she wanted to expand her knowledge to new scientific horizons and she got a postdoctoral position in NMSB lab, where she will be involved in investigate the mechanical stress paradigms in both C. elegans and mammalian cells.
However, she couldn’t break up completely from her artistic roots, since she finds inspiration and fun in many artworks such as dance, drawing, knitting and jewelry making.