From internship to master

Mariana grew up in Gaia, Portugal, obtained her BSc degree in Aveiro, and moved in 2016 to Wageningen to gain work experience as a Plant Research International (PRI) researcher. Once her internship contract was over, she was stimulated to stay for a master’s programme at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). It was also a logical move because PRI was part of WUR.

“I was learning so much that when I shared my plan with my colleagues to go back to Aveiro to get an MSc degree, I remember them saying: 'if you are already in the best university in your field, why go back now?'. That night, I had a big decision to make.” She decided to stay. The reality was that studying abroad would be financially challenging for her and her family. Yet, she found a way to pursue her master's in Plant Sciences in 2017 by having different jobs and roles, which included working in restaurants around Wageningen and becoming a writer for the WUR International Students Blog.

From Brazil back to Wageningen

Then Mariana leaves Wageningen for a while. In 2018, she moved to Brazil to obtain a specialization in entomology. In 2019, she obtained her master's degree in Plant Sciences at WUR and returned to Portugal to work as an intern at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Despite awarded a grant to move to the USA, in 2021, Mariana decides to return
to Wageningen as a researcher. This return to the familiar corners of the Radix
building brings her the challenge she was looking for: to collaborate with
various institutions and stakeholders. While investigating the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus and the issue of azole resistance build-up in compost heaps, this research topic gave her the opportunity to be in contact with various
stakeholders of the azole ecosystem. This contact with farmers, politicians, doctors, or consultants gave Mariana also the chance to deeply explore the divergences in this ecosystem and to take her research on a new direction.

Bridging science with entrepreneurship

The return to Wageningen in 2021 and this new research path on Aspergillus fumigatus and its stakeholders was exciting, yet funding was not guaranteed further than a year. With a short-contract, Mariana started to explore the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Wageningen. Soon, her first company grew and settled officially in the Netherlands. As a CEO and co-founder, PlantWizard was
Mariana’s way to merge her scientific knowledge with her entrepreneurial skills. Her startup company was a finalist in the first competition they entered, the AtlasInvest Entrepreneurship Grant, a prize that University Fund Wageningen awarded to help young innovative entrepreneurs to take the first steps with their initiative.

Switch from laboratory technician to PhD student

Her enthusiasm to further investigate the relations among stakeholders in this ecosystem, combined with her entrepreneurial background, led her to start a PhD in 2023. Yet, not a standard one. Her research is not what many would call a regular PhD project. She soon became aware that having interdisciplinary research with a social science perspective beyond the lab walls, was crucial to deepen the understanding of the azole resistance levels her team was observing. In the same way that doing a master's at WUR wasn't planned but went naturally, switching from laboratory technician to PhD student was also a fairly natural progression.

“The first time I was discussing the opportunity to do a PhD with my supervisors, I genuinely said no. My previous experience as a PhD student in Spain had been intense and disappointing, so I was not sure if I wanted to give it a chance and go through the same thing again at WUR. On the other hand, I knew I would have to choose between continuing as a researcher or managing the company and the team I was so proud of. Yet, I knew that at WUR, I was working on the most interesting research topic I could ever work on. And the degree would be valuable for my personal goal in life, which is to teach.

Still, 60% of turning my no into a yes, were my supervisors. They were the deciding factor to start my PhD track at WUR. It is hard to find people that are real humans nowadays, in any industry. I am glad that I was able to have Dr. Bas Zwaan and Dr. Sijmen Schoustra as supervisors for the past two years. They restored my hope for an academic path, so that I could continue conducting scientific research.”

Currently, Mariana is working on her PhD thesis entitled 'Breaking the Aspergillus Code: an interdisciplinary approach' with ELS (Dr. Yvette Baggen) and CVI (Dr. Gitte Schober) to investigate A. fumigatus as a model for more impactful fungal pathogen research.

Inspiration and passion

The book 'The Pasteurization of France' has been Mariana’s main inspiration to combine fields such as genetics, entrepreneurship, and education along her scientific journey.

“Pasteur inspired me to contribute to different fields, and not to hide my interdisciplinary skills and motivation to work on various areas. He inspired me to not reduce myself to Mariana the researcher but rather to keep Mariana the explorer curious about the world, nature, and the human connections around it”.

Since her passion is to teach, Mariana is getting trained to become a non-formal educator and trainer alongside her research. She also contributes to the education at WUR as an academic advisor and supports courses and workshops related to entrepreneurship.

Returning to Portugal

She looks back on her time at WUR with pride and satisfaction, but nine years after onboarding on her first no-return-ticket flight, Mariana looks forward to completing her PhD in Wageningen, and will then focus on her NGO and on building a permaculture school in Portugal.

“Sometimes we are so focused on making impact in the world either with our research or startup company, that we forget to make a positive impact on our street, on our neighbors, so to speak on the person sitting next to you on the bus. The truth is that without the support of my family, I wouldn’t be where I am now and I wouldn't have had the chance to study across the globe. Recently, my dad was diagnosed with a chronic disease and sadly other family members have recently passed away. Adding to this the fact that having a career in science, as a woman and as an expat, is still challenging, I have decided to return to Portugal so that I can now in turn support the ones who always believed in me: my family, my friends and my community.”