Recognizing Plant Cell authors: Bianca Ribeiro

Bianca Ribeiro, co-first author of A Seed-Specific Regulator of Triterpene Saponin Biosynthesis in Medicago truncatula

Current Position: Postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven, Belgium

Education: PhD in Biochemistry and Biotechnology at Ghent University, Belgium; MSc in Genetics and Plant Breeding at University of Sao Paulo, Brazil and B.S. in Biological Sciences at University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Non-scientific Interests: literature, music, theatre plays, and travelling

Brief bio: I studied biology at University of Sao Paulo, from where I obtained my B.Sc. degree in 2012 and my M.Sc. with a major in plant genetics in 2014.  During my bachelor´s and master´s degree, I got deeply involved with molecular biology, studying a hormone peptide named Rapid Alkalization Factor (RALF), which is involved in several physiological and developmental processes in plants. In 2015, I started working at Ghent University/VIB department of Plant Systems Biology (PSB, Gent, Belgium), having earned the “Ciências sem Fronteiras” scholarship from Brazil. This experience challenged me to grow as a scientist in a number of ways and my training was focused on the investigation of the molecular mechanisms driving the production of specialized metabolites in plants. In 2019, I got the opportunity to start working, as a postdoctoral fellow associate, at KU Leuven. I am currently working with cyclic lipopeptides (CLPs), which are bacterial metabolites that play an important role in the plant protection. Aside from my passion for research, I am also passionate for disseminating knowledge to a non-scientific audience as a writer at “Ciência Informativa”, a Brazilian scientific blog.