I am Ana Raquel Santa Maria and I am from Portugal. In 2015 I received my Master degree in Bioengineering from University of Algarve. After that I worked as a science teacher in “Centro de Ciência Viva” in Portugal. In 2016 I was awarded a Marie Skłodowska Curie fellowship to conduct my PhD at the Biological Research Centre in Szeged. And then my adventure in Hungary started. I am doing my PhD on the improvement of a novel in vitro organ-on-a-chip device to be used in the study of the properties and physiology of the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). This device is a cutting-edge invention in the barrier-chip field. In the device the human cells are used to simulate the BBB. This novel in vitro device for BBB culture models provides users with a standardized, reliable and reusable platform to study the barrier functions.

Outside of the laboratory I am a vice chair in the Hungarian Chapter of the Marie Curie Alumni Association, and I collaborate in international projects of science for kids. Teaching and communicate science for a non-scientist audience are two of my passions in science, leading me to reach the finals of the Famelab2019 in Hungary. Be able to share how science is cool, and how important it is for our society, have become one of my hobbies.