PhD Eva Bastida

I recently joined Martha Merrow’s group and the ERC-funded Microclock project to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the circadian clock in Bacillus subtilis and how clock-regulated functions shape interactions with other species.

I hold a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Murcia (Spain), where I graduated with top honors. I bring expertise in bacterial signal transduction, stress responses, and gene regulation, and have worked with a range of model systems including E. coli, Myxococcus xanthus, insect and human cell lines, and C. elegans. During my PhD, I uncovered key mechanisms underlying photooxidative and oxidative stress responses in M. xanthus and contributed to identifying the gene encoding PEDS1—essential for the synthesis of plasmalogens, a unique class of membrane phospholipids—and to revealing their roles in the bacterial photooxidative stress response and in myeloid cell inflammation in zebrafish. My work has been published in high-impact journals such as Science and Nucleic Acids Research. Research stays in Newcastle upon Type (UK) and Geneva (Switzerland) enriched my scientific perspective and strengthened my research training.