Profile
Sofia Franco
Thank yooooouu so so much :) really cannot believe it! My fellow scientists were really outstanding :) happy I was part of such an impressive team!
My CV
-
Education:
Univeristy of Lisbon; University of the Algarve; Lehigh University; University of Bergen; Newcastle Unniversity
-
Qualifications:
BSc in Biology (specialization in Marine Biology); MSc in Aquaculture and Fisheries (specialization in Aquaculture)
-
Work History:
I have worked with crustaceans, as copepods and barnacles, in Portugal, Norway and in the UK, investigating how to keep them in captivity. I have some work experience in aquacultures, as well as teaching and doing science communication (love it!)….but being a scientist keeps wining so far!
-
Current Job:
I am a Marine Biologist 🙂 !!! Now I am a PhD student in Marine Science and Technology
-
Read more
Sometimes marine species are menaced in their environments and they need a little help to survive! If we understand how they live and which conditions they like we can not only have them growing happily in aquariums, but we can also protect the ones that live in the wild!
I work with tiny stalked barnacles that are eaten in Portugal and Spain (yes, eaten!!! Apparently they are very tasty too!), trying to convince them to  grow in our aquariums, so that they are so happy that they will mate and reproduce with each other (yes, they need to get it going!!!)…and we can have zillions of baby new ones! I then investigate how to make the little ones happy…so that they will become big adults that are happy and like staying in our aquariums! But this is nooooooooooot easy at all….they are very very temperamental and can be very moody, just liking very specific conditions that are really difficult to find! They like strong currents, bubbling water, just specific types of microalgae (yes, microalgae! It is algae, but just way way smaller!) or little shrimps, warm water (but not too warm!)…and unfortunately they cannot say what they want, so we need to discover by ourselves! It is madness to understand what they want, but when they are happy, they are really happy and they will be eat, grow, move around (yes, they move! Very slowly, but they can change position!), mate (oh, yes…they will look for friends and …) and then they will release hundreds of babies to the water! The babies are really tiny and will swim around until they find someplace they like, and then they get stuck to it (yes, like glue! But way way stronger! It is really hard to remove them!) and moult (yes, they will change their shape into looking like the adults! A bit odd, but really cool!)…and then they will grow to adults and all starts again!
-
My Typical Day:
There are no typical days in biology! You can be all day doing experiments in the laboratory… or writing scientific articles….or be in the aquariums with the animals…or in the computer just looking at hundreds of data….or teaching…or in nature checking the animals or doing experiments….or presenting at conferences….anything is possible!
-
What I'd do with the prize money:
Well I had no idea at first…but after starting the chat sessions I think the best thing to do is to use the money organize a few visits to schools and make a few science days! We could talk about science, maybe take some animals with us and do some activities!
-
My Interview
-
How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Curious….funny….and happy!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Uhhmmmmm….that is classified information! (Most of the time I was peaceful!)
Who is your favourite singer or band?
From 30 Seconds to Mars, to Nickelback, to loads rappers, to cuban music…whatever makes me feel the flow!
What's your favourite food?
Desserts!!!!…specially if they have chocolate! Lots of chocolate! Or ice cream! Love Lasagna too!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Travel travel travel!!! Try all types of sports and radical activities….and…the last wish I would save it for an emergency (who knows!) or offer to someone else….two would surely be enough!
Tell us a joke.
What did one hat say to another? You stay here, I’ll go on a head!
-