Carrera Bravo, Claudia

I did my master’s degree in Applied Biomolecular Technology for Biopharmaceutical Industries in the UK because I wanted to work for Big Pharma, not necessarily doing research. However, during my time in the UK I realized that I missed working in the lab and planning experiments that can allow me to find answers or discover something impactful specifically in the area of Infectious Diseases. This was a crucial time in my life because I decided to take the challenge to apply for a PhD. I knew that this personal goal will give me many tools and knowledge to train myself as a scientist with analytical and critical thinking and experience willing to put my work at the service of the society.

My project aims to determine if chloroquine (CQ) causes the programmed cell death of infected erythrocytes due to calcium distribution. One of the consequences of this process is the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) that carry proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and other metabolites from the parasite and erythrocyte. To follow-up the story, I want to examine the role of EVs from CQ-treated infected erythrocytes in the invasion efficiency and host immune response.

This year, I had the opportunity to write a research grant of my PhD project and I got it. I was very grateful with my PI for all his support and proud of myself for taking the challenge and achieve the goal.

Every time I have to start a new experiment or work with a different sample or condition is a new challenge because I have to learn and understand what I am doing in order to analyze the results and troubleshoot finding the best solution.