Liliana Brito, MSc

Stem Cell Scientist at Hoxton Farms

    I completed my bachelor studies in Cellular and Molecular Biology at NOVA School of Science and Technology. Afterwards, I finished my MSc in Biotechnology at Instituto Superior Técnico under supervision of Professor Gabriel Monteiro, Dr Catarina Madeira, and Professor Cláudia Lobato da Silva. Staying in Portugal was an option, but I decided to try my chances abroad. I was selected for INOV Contacto in 2015 to do a research internship in Madrid, where I worked at Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Dr Monica Amblar’s research group. Until here, I gained experience in bacterial and mammalian cell models and my interest in non-viral gene therapy increased. Fortunately, in 2017, I was selected to start the British Heart Foundation 4-year MRes/PhD programme at Imperial College London, under the supervision of Professor Molly Stevens, Professor Sian Harding, Professor Nadia Rosenthal, and Doctor Michela Noseda. Here, I had the opportunity of applying my cellular and molecular biology background with the bioengineering field to study cardiac regeneration using a gene therapy approach. I am currently finishing my PhD thesis and working in a food company called Hoxton Farms as a Stem Cell Scientist.