ABOUT
Paola Monguilod is from Zaragoza, a city in northern Spain. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and a Master’s degree in Biophysics and Quantitative Biotechnology from the University of Zaragoza.
She has been recognized with several prestigious awards and fellowships throughout her academic career. She received the Exceptional Career Award from the University of Zaragoza in 2022 for having the highest GPA (9.03/10) in her biotechnology program. Furthermore, Paola was awarded a Severo Ochoa-La Caixa Summer Fellowship to conduct research at the Catalan Institute for Chemical Research (ICIQ), where she worked on the synthesis of molecular catalysts for CO2 reduction. An additional recognition of her work was a 7-month research grant from the Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC), where she studied how climate change is intensifying the risks posed by invasive alien species (IAS)—particularly invasive mammals—to human health. During this she developed a first-of-its-kind tool to assess the impact of invasive species on human health. Most recently, Paola was named one of the two winners of the 15th edition of the GBIF Graduate Research Award for this work at CSIC.
In addition to her academic achievements, Paola has gained diverse research experience at institutions such as Vytautas Magnus university in Lithuania and the Institut Pasteur in Paris. She has worked on a wide range of scientific projects, including the study of botulinum neurotoxins, the metabolic potential of rare actinomyces, and the molecular identification of mite species.
As Paola advances in her career, she is poised to make significant contributions to the scientific community. Her PhD will focus on combating antimicrobial resistance by developing bioactive polymers with antimicrobial activity.
INTERESTS
Her academic interests include Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Polymers, and Biophysics.