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This Is What Science Looks Like at NC State: Àngels de Luis Balaguer

Photo courtesy of Àngels de Luis Balaguer.
Photo courtesy of Àngels de Luis Balaguer.

Editor’s note: This post was written by Àngels de Luis Balaguer, a postdoctoral researcher in plant biology at NC State (who also earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering at NC State). The post is an entry in an ongoing series that we hope will highlight the diversity of researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The series is inspired by the This Is What A Scientist Looks Like site.

My name is Àngels de Luis Balaguer, and I am postdoctoral researcher in the Sozzani Lab in NC State’s plant and microbial biology department, where we use the Arabidopsis root as a tool to study plant stem cells.

I am originally from El Puig, a beautiful town by the Mediterranean in Spain. I obtained my B.S. degree in telecommunications engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, and my Ph.D. in electrical engineering from NC State.

Photo courtesy of Àngels de Luis Balaguer.
Photo courtesy of Àngels de Luis Balaguer.

I first came to NC State as an exchange student with the main goal of learning English. My initial plan was to spend nine months in the USA – which was the duration of the exchange program – and go back to Spain. That was eight years ago!

My exchange year was incredibly fun, and it was an amazing opportunity to live for almost a year with people from all over the world. Toward the end of the exchange program, I got involved in a research project in an electrical engineering lab, where I worked under the supervision of William Edmonson to develop global optimization algorithms. This research opportunity made me decide to extend my stay for another year to finish the project.

The time that I spent exposed to research changed my career plans; instead of going back to Europe and starting a job in a company (as I thought I would do at the end of this research project), I enrolled in the Electrical and Computer Engineering doctorate program.

During my Ph.D., I worked for Cranos Williams. In his lab, I came upon the area of systems biology, a research field where biology meets with math and engineering. My Ph.D. thesis focused on developing algorithms to study the impact of biomolecular processes on plant functions. After my Ph.D., I knew that I wanted to position myself as an independent researcher in the areas of computational biology and systems biology. For my postdoctoral training then, I sought a position in a biology lab to complement my background in mathematics and engineering.

In my current research, we are combining mathematics, engineering methodologies, and experimental biology to uncover genetic interactions that regulate stem cells. This is an absolutely exciting area to work on!

But not everything is research. My favorite things to do when I am not working are cooking, dining out, and traveling. I love to experience new cultures and people, inside or outside of the US. I also enjoy hiking and outdoors activities, reading fiction, and hanging out with friends on weekends.