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Ana Luisa is currently as a Post-Doc Fellow at CGB/UTAD (Portugal) on carotenoids accumulation in wheat. Her PhD research work was on aluminum (Al) tolerance genes in hexaploid wheat. For the first time, she provided concrete evidence that different mechanisms for Al tolerance operate simultaneously in a single Al tolerant Portuguese bread wheat genotype; Barbela. The results from her PhD research work will provide important insights in the aluminum toxicity mechanism in wheat and will provide a genetic roadmap to explore the utility of landraces in cereal improvement by using modern molecular tools.

In applying for the IWGSC Early Career Award, Ana Luisa wished to present her research on Al tolerance to the wheat scientific community. She also wished to have the opportunity to interact and learn about the innovative work of other researchers in her field, which will be beneficial in future scientific endeavours.

“I believe this IWGSC Early Career Award will contribute greatly to my professional growth and might be a stepping-stone for my career to become an independent researcher. Above all, it encouraged me to seek continued research excellence in pursuing a research and an academic career and motivated to keep doing what I like most.”

Ana Luisa plans to continue her research work to build on the foundations of crop genetics for controlling traits of importance in economically important cereals using genomic based tools. Her career goal is to become an independent investigator by developing her own research line and she hopes to contribute for further advances in cereal crops in a collaborative manner.