Today we have the great pleasure of speaking with Marina, a brilliant RBP-ReguNet researcher who is currently completing her PhD at the CIBIO-Trento University under Professor Alessandro Provenzani’s supervision.

Can you tell us a bit about your academic and professional background?

Sure! Actually, I started my professional career embarking on this MSCA-DN program. I did my Bachelor on Biochemistry at the University of Seville, and then I obtained my MSc on Biomedical Biotechnology at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. I had previously experienced the day-to-day on an academic lab while doing my master’s thesis, but this is the very first professional experience I’ve had!

What motivated you to join this MSCA-DN project?

I was lucky enough to have a very good friend during my master that was very proactive and motivated to find jobs and internship opportunities. We would always share with each other interesting offers and she was the one that found the MSCA-DN. When she read the offer, she immediately sent it to me as she knew I was going to love some projects the DN had to offer. Moreover, I’ve always been cool with going abroad so she thought the opportunity was perfect – and it was! I immediately applied after she sent it to me, and it went well! I would not have been here today without her.

What specific research or training are you focusing on within this project?

My project focuses on exploring RNA Binding Protein (RBP) regulation on the expression of two novel immune checkpoints, receptor and ligand. Using CRISPR/Cas9 screens, our aim is to uncover novel RBP regulation of an immune checkpoint overexpressed in melanoma, and its receptor, expressed on Natural Killer (NK) cells. It’s a very cool project because it lets me combine studying post-transcriptional regulation mechanisms with immunotherapy and cancer biology, which I find fascinating!

How do you think this project will contribute to your career development?

Not only my PhD project has allowed me to understand and learn numerous state-of-the-art techniques, such as functional genomics, which have lead me broaden my set of skills as a researcher greatly, but also this MSCA-DN has brought me the opportunity to be part of a project in which so many different laboratories, with different but also common expertise, are working altogether and helping us to form as PhD candidates. I think it’s being a transformative experience in my life; I’ve never learnt so much and intensely as I am during my PhD, and I don’t think there is any better opportunity than being able to do it being part of a MSCA-DN in terms of high-quality training.

What have been some of the most rewarding experiences in your research so far?

I’ve found particularly endearing to have a MSc student doing their master thesis based on my project. The opportunity to help on their training at first, to then see them become increasingly independent up to a point in which they are helping me back as much, and then ending up working side by side with a person who understands the project as much as I do, exchanging ideas and being able to actually understand how much we learn and grow in a short period of time has been fantastic. I love working with creative, motivated people who are full of ideas, and I’m glad to be part of a team like that.

Can you describe any challenges you have faced during your time in the project and how you overcame them?

My project hit a wall halfway through my second year. We obtained results we could not fully understand, and for a while nothing was working – we were clearly not looking in the correct direction. This was mentally draining, as we were putting all our efforts in trying to make things work, and they just didn’t. Then the second MSCA-DN meeting came up, which was followed by an Institut Curie training on post-transcriptional regulation which was phenomenal, and I got to share my results with a lot of different people, both inside and outside the network. Some of the insights they gave me were incredibly useful, and when I got back on the lab, I was full of new ideas and things to try to do differently, and we managed to get the project back on track. Since them, my project has refreshingly changed on many aspects. Networking rules!

What skills or knowledge do you hope to gain by the end of this fellowship?

I hope to be a fully trained researcher, capable of working independently on a project, with developed critical thinking skills and lots of resilience!

How do you see the impact of your research on the wider community or field?

I hope we shed some light on post-transcriptional regulation mechanisms that help cancer cells evade the immune system. This could help in understanding better a small fraction of the intricate reprogramming that happens in malignancies. Uncovering novel fine-tuning regulation of immune checkpoints could help us understand overall novel mechanisms of immune evasion, that could lead to resistance, acquire or innate, to current immunotherapy treatments.

Can you share a memorable moment or achievement from your work in this project?

We did, for the first time in my laboratory, a phenotype based CRISPR screening. We did not have previous experience on how to design, analyze or work with this type of data, so the first screening was a very big pilot-like experience. When we got to the validation part, we were still not sure if we were going to reproduce the same results we obtained in the big screening. The first test in which we saw that, indeed, our data was reproducible, was a very big moment!

What advice would you give to future fellows or researchers entering this field?

I think the most important thing a person needs to have to get the most out of working on this field is to have a lot of curiosity. I would recommend finding a topic in which you truly enjoy learning more, digging deeper, something that truly, deeply interests you. Experiments are going to fail and you’re going to feel bad about it – and I’ve found the true thing that gets you going is wanting to understand what’s behind the experiment failing, wanting to learn more about the thing you’re currently studying, having actual curiosity to discover what your experimental model is telling you and linking it to the rest of your research, to the state of the art, to anything that comes to your mind and that has a way to be proven to be true – or false! Curiosity will really keep you going: nurture and cherish it.

Where are you from? Since these are mobility grants, are you missing your place? Family, friends, city…

I am from Spain, Seville! Even though I like working abroad, I’ll admit the beginning of my period in Trento was harder than I expected. I had already lived for a short time in Italy, so I knew that I liked the culture and the people, but I moved from a big, lively city to a small town behind the mountains, and it was much calmer than what I had previously experienced, so it was a bit of a cultural shock when I arrived. And since it doesn’t have an airport near that has a direct flight to my place, I pass long periods without visiting my family and friends. That’s still the hardest part of all as I would like to spend much more time that I currently do with my loved ones, but I’m lucky that I have amazing people in my new city too that make my life here very happy.

And what about your new place? What are you liking the most/the least?

At the beginning I thought life in the mountains was not for me. I was used to having an active nightlife, and people in Trento enjoy daytime activities, time in nature and more relaxed plans. But actually, I’ve come to like it a lot too! The Dolomites are an incredible place to be living in. I’ve seen places I could not even picture in my imagination, and I’ve shared these memories with fantastic people that I would have never met if I had not lived here! Living in Italy is fantastic too, and I’m travelling somewhere for the weekend any chance I get. The thing I like the least is not having an airport, nor a direct flight home!

What are your hobbies or interests outside of your research work?

I love enjoying time outside with friends. I’m happy to be surrounded by active people, who always have a plan for the weekend, whether it be travelling someplace near, hiking, skiing, or relaxing on the lake in summer. They’re always up for a beer whenever someone needs to talk or just enjoy a sunny evening.

I also love to read contemporary literature and listening to music – I always have my headphones on.

Can you share a fun fact about yourself that people might not know?

I absolutely love wine and since I’m in Italy, I’ve been tasting regional wines every time I travel… This has made me earn the great privilege of getting to select the bottle of wine I want every time I go to have dinner with my friends as they already trust my choices, and so I have become the official “wine taster” of my group of friends, haha. Can’t complain!

What book, movie, or music album has had a significant impact on you recently?

The last book I read was “Tomorrow on the battle think of me”, written by Javier Marías, one of the best contemporary authors I’ve had the pleasure to read. He never disappoints and this time was no exception, what a book! If you haven’t read his work, I can’t empathise enough how much you need to run to your bookstore and pick whichever book you love the title the most. He’s truly fantastic.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I’ve always wanted to go to the French Polynesia! As it’s literally on the other side of the world, I’ve always had it on my bucket list as the Big Travel I want to do someday. I hope I’ll get the chance someday!

What do you enjoy most about the city or country you are currently living in?

I’m incredibly lucky because Italy is truly one of the most phenomenal places on Earth. I love that I’m able to take a train for the weekend and get to see some of the most striking pieces of art, ancient architecture or even stunning nature landscapes, all to then finish with their regional food (and wine). Truly, I can’t get enough of this country!

Who has been the most influential person in your life, and why?

I would say my mum. She has the perfect amount of kindness, empathy, good reasoning and emotional intelligence for every situation. I can always trust her judgment and know that I will be supported on every choice. But every member of my family has had a great influence on me. I’m very lucky!

How do you balance your work and personal life?

I had a hard time at the beginning with this one. PhDs often cause you to overstep on work and sometimes forget about resting. I think I had to hit rock bottom and figure out that working overtime was making me less productive and made me think less clearly, and if all I was caring about was to work as responsibly and hardly as possible, then this was definitely not the way to go. So, I made a compromise with myself to treat rest as my responsibility as well. Sometimes research makes you go to work on the weekends, or work until late because working with life things makes the timing challenging sometimes. But if I know that I will be working as hard on having fun on the next occasion I have, this makes me focus better when I have to do after-hours work, as I will make sure to compensate for the time spent on work on fun or relaxing activities to empty my mind afterwards.

What is one thing you have learned about yourself during your fellowship?

That I truly enjoy learning new things and I thrive on curiosity. And that there’s always a new interesting thing to understand better every time things do not go your way! You just need to keep wanting to ask questions, even when you still don’t have all the answers.