In the spotlight: Marta Godia Perello, researcher and teacher at ABG

Last time, Martien Groenen shared a bit about his background and his work for ABG. This time we ask Marta Godia Perello (PhD), researcher and teacher at ABG, about her research activities. (And her hobbies, of course.)

Hello Marta, could you perhaps introduce yourself and share a bit about your position at ABG?

My name is Marta Godia, I come from a city close to Barcelona, Spain. I would define myself as an enthusiastic person with the ambition to learn something new every day. I am currently a Lecturer and Researcher at ABG, which means that my responsibilities are almost shared between teaching and research.

How and when did you start at ABG? And where did you work before you came to WUR?

I started working at ABG as a Postdoc during the Covid-19 pandemic in October 2020. At that moment, the pandemic situation in the Netherlands was not good so the work was 100 percent remote. I remember we even had coffee breaks online with colleagues! But still I had a lot of feedback to keep on moving with my project. A few months later, I started laboratory work so I could come to the office. We were with very few colleagues. Luckily, we can now all go to the office without restrictions.

Before coming to WUR I moved quite a lot. I did my PhD in the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, but I also visited other universities for short periods such as Michigan University (USA), Wayne State University (USA), and CSIRO (Australia). My first Postdoc was between the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Copenhagen University (Denmark) and then I came to WUR. After a year as a Postdoc I moved to a Lecturer position which later became a permanent position.

I’m curious, what sparked your interest in genetics?

I was always fascinated by biology, and I was lucky enough to be in the first generation that could study a BSc in Genetics in Spain. From the first moment, I was captivated by the subject, and I became even more enthusiastic when I could apply it to my research. For example, finding a rare genetic blindness in dogs whose parents where healthy. Now this mutation is currently checked in dog breeding.

What motivates/drives you in your work? What gives you energy?

I am driven to understand and identify the molecular mechanisms and layers that regulate how a cell works and ultimately how these affect the phenotype or disease of animals.

I like to work in a team and do brainstorming to discuss results and plan future research. It is also very motivating when you can mentor talented students and see their progress across time. Similarly, I am very grateful when my colleagues can mentor me in projects, ideas or grants. I also find teaching very exciting (it’s a learning experience for me too, not just for the students). It is important to me to engage students and to explain complex concepts easily.

Can you share some information about a project you are currently working on? Something that you’re proud of?

Almost since I started in WUR I was involved in the new sequencing platform promethION from Oxford Nanopore Technologies. This technology allows to sequence long fragments of DNA (or RNA) of thousands of bp length instead of the short red sequencing (around 300 bp length). This allows the identification of structural variants, that would otherwise be missed, as well as methylation marks with high resolution.

Although it was a high promising platform, it was also not easy to make it work as expected in the beginning. I had to spent several months to finetune the protocol across different tissue types and species for the current projects within the group. But all the effort was worth it and now the platform is working very smoothly! We are now generating great data that our colleagues can use for their interests.

On a more personal note, what are your hobbies? How do you like to spend your free time?

I am a very active person so I like to go to the gym several times a week. I also like languages, so learning Dutch is in my current list of hobbies. Moreover, I am a foodie, so I can spent several hours cooking a new recipe that I have come across.

Final question, who would you like to nominate for the next interview in this series, and why?

I have been very lucky to have worked with several different colleagues who have helped me to improve my research and grow as a scientist in the group, so it is very difficult for me to name only one! But I will nominate Ole Madsen for the next interview. Ole has been a real mentor for me, helping me to grow as researcher and teacher. We also collaborate in several molecular projects together, and I am sure he has some inspiring knowledge and stories to share.