Biosketch

Dr. Joana Barros-Martins is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Immunology at the Hannover Medical School. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, August 1990 she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Sciences and Ministry of Magic, University of Lisbon in Biochemistry in 2012. She continued her education by completing a Masters’ in Medical biochemistry in the same institution. For her master thesis, she joined the Immuno-Biology & Immuno-Oncology group led by Prof. Dr. Bruno Silva-Santos at IMM where she dissected the role of transcription factors in development and functional differentiation of γδ T cells in mouse models.

In May 2015, Joana moved to Hannover to join the group of Prof. Dr. Immo Prinz in order to start her journey to obtain a PhD in Immunology. This time Joana focused in understanding the role of microRNAs in the development and function of elusive CD8αα intraepithelial lymphocytes. After completion of her PhD in June 2020, Joana took a position in the group of Prof. Dr. Reinhold Förster as a postdoctoral scientist. Now, her research is focused on understanding vaccination driven immune responses and molecular hallmarks of immune system ageing.

Testimony

During my time in IMM, I was a master student under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Bruno Silva-Santos and Dr. Karine Serre. Even after 7 years, I still dearly remember the amazing work environment within the lab and the whole institute. The love for science and the drive to answer current open questions was contagious. It was during this time I learned how a good environment and constructive challenge from your colleagues and collaborators is important for one’s growth as a scientist.

At the same thing, making work meetings less formal, such as the “pizza seminars” or the beer hour and the immunology club and others, brought the IMM scientists from all fields to gather and discuss their projects leading to unlikely new collaborations. Despite the short time I stayed in IMM, I gathered invaluable experience, which drives me to this day. Because of that, I tend to interact with colleagues and friends from different areas of immunology and biology more often in pursue of continuous learning from them and their experiences.