
Biography
Martina is a BBSRC DTP PhD student at the Eartlham Institute where in collaboration with the Quadram Institute, she focuses on understanding how Bifidobacteria modulate autophagy in the gut.
In her PhD project, Martina aims to combine computational and experimental approaches, including state-of-the-art organoid-based screening, to identify specific pathways through which Bifidobacteria modulate autophagy, and by this, influence intestinal homeostasis. Studying these microbe-host connections is essential to understand the mechanisms behind beneficial effects of commensal bacteria.
Martina holds a BSc in Biotechnology from the University of Pavia (Italy) and an MSc in Molecular Nutrition and Toxicology from Wageningen University (Netherlands). Her passion for microbiology started when investigating S. aureus bacterial biofilms during a semester abroad at Aarhus University, Denmark. During her MSc thesis at Wageningen University, she used transcriptomics data and bioinformatics to study the effect of dark chocolate intake on cardiovascular disease.
Martina is also passionate about making science accessible to all. She has herself worked as a scientific communicator for the European Food Information Council based in Brussels, where she collaborated on European projects focused on nutrition, health and sustainability.
Publications
Related reading.

Finding fungi at the fen

The genetic machinery that drives biodiversity

On the origin of errors: the causes and consequences of mistakes during DNA replication

Could long-read RNA sequencing be the future of drug discovery?

Why is genome annotation important?

Why cloud computing is important for data-driven bioscience research

How bioinformatics can crack the complex case of protist biodiversity

The dramatic effects genomics will have on our future world

Key tilapia genome offers boost to global food security

Exotic wheat DNA could help breed ‘climate-proof’ crops

Sequencing project to unleash the huge potential of euglenoids

Circadian clock insights could be key to increased wheat yields

European consortium launched to reverse biodiversity loss through genomics research

Tracking bacterial evolution in real time spots emergence of antimicrobial resistance

Big Data initiative awarded £6.3 million as part of major UKRI investment in research infrastructure

Not all looks rosy for the pink pigeon
