Mar Alcaraz

 

In 2021, I finished my bachelor’s degree in Physics and Chemistry at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, with the intention of applying these two basic sciences to biological systems. I performed my bachelor’s thesis in Pere Roca-Cusachs’ lab at the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia. I aimed to combine Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Fluorescence Microscopy (FM) to measure the rearrangement of the adhesion ligands in viscous environments depending on the magnitude of the forces exerted by eukaryotic cells.

After that, I started a master’s degree in Biophysics at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and I enrolled in the Condensed Matter Physics department. I had the opportunity to keep using the combination AFM-FM to study biological samples, in particular genome release of adenovirus particles upon the application of chemical stress induced by denaturing agents.

I now work at IMDEA Nanoscience as a Research Assistant in Dr. Cristina Flors group. My target is to merge nanofabrication techniques with the combination AFM-FM to describe quantitatively the interaction between bacteria and nanofabricated topographies with bactericidal aims.