Profile

• Time Zone

  (GMT +1) Paris, Madrid, Athens, Berlin, Rome

  
  
• Organization

  Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I’m a postdoctoral researcher at IST-Austria. My experience includes plant genetics, physiology and molecular biology. Unlike animals, plants cannot run away from stressor agents that surround them. Hence, my special interest is on the molecular machinery that plants use to respond to environmental cues, such as pests, drought and nutrient scarcity, in order to thrive. During my PhD at La Trobe University (Australia), I used the Arabidopsis model to help uncovering how plants sense fluctuations in nutrient availability. In other words, how do they know when they're 'hungry'?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

  Oh...I pretty much feel like being a scientist was something innate to me. Since I was a little kid I wondered about the whys and hows of life and the universe, I've always been a curious reader and I remember how happy I was the time I got 'My first chemist' experimentation kit, at about 10yo. This is basically why I decided to go into a science career :)

  
  
• Availability

  I am currently available for mentoring, please send me team match invitations

  
  
• Preferred Student Level(s)

  Middle School Students (Grades 6,7,8)
  High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12)
  Undergraduate Students

  
  
• Preferred Investigation Themes

  The Wonder of Seeds (seed germination and growth)
  Foundations of Genetics (traits, variation and environment in rapidly cycling Brassica)
  Genetics in Arabidopsis (investigation with a model species to track transmission of traits)
  Agronomy Feeds the World (where does food come from?)
  Plants Get Sick, Too!
  Tree-mendous Trees

  
  
• In addition to English, I am comfortable communicating with students in the following languages:

  PORTUGUESE

  
  
• Videoconference Ability

  Yes

  
  
• Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

  1

  
  

Recent Posts

The Earthlings Marina Borges Osorio Mar 29 at 05:29am

Dear Matt,

I'm afraid your message didn't go through. How is the project going? Any photo updates?

Cheers,

Marina

Truffula Trees Marina Borges Osorio Mar 27 at 02:15am

Dear Truffula Trees,

As your experiment is moving a bit slower, and given the look on your picture, I wonder: how much water (or liquid treatment) are you adding per cup? Are you sure this is enough or perhaps you should add more liquid? The cups…

more

Dear Truffula Trees,

As your experiment is moving a bit slower, and given the look on your picture, I wonder: how much water (or liquid treatment) are you adding per cup? Are you sure this is enough or perhaps you should add more liquid? The cups seem a bit dry...maybe that's a reason why germination is rather low at the moment. Usually in an experiment we have to pre-define the amount of water needed and always make sure we add the same amount, otherwise the amount of liquid may affect your results.

Another question is, did you decide to go for both seed types, or did you choose one?

Best luck!

Flying Camels Marina Borges Osorio Mar 27 at 02:10am

Dear Kolbi,

Happy to see your seeds have germinated already!

How often are you planning to measure growth? And can you tell me what part of the plant are you measuring?

Best luck!