Overview

I am a PhD student currently researching leprosy of western chimpanzees in Cantanhez National Park, Guinea-Bissau.

After studying great apes welfare at the Barcelona Zoo and Fundació Mona primate rescue centre in Spain, I developed an interest in human-wildlife interactions when volunteering as a research assistant for the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in Senegal. While collecting data on chimpanzee ecology, I witnessed first-hand the complexities of great ape and human coexistence in an anthropogenic habitat.

Intrigued by the competition between human and nonhuman primates over access to natural resources, I undertook a master’s thesis on the use of a commercial non-timber forest product by chimpanzees and local people in Senegal. During this study, I adopted a cross-disciplinary approach in conservation, integrating social and natural science methods.

After I completed my MSc, I was employed as a graduate research assistant at the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter. I studied a population of chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau, using non-invasive wildlife monitoring methods, including camera traps and faecal sample collection for molecular analysis.

Besides conducting research, I love communicating science outside academic environments and I have been involved in outreach. I volunteered with the JGI by giving talks about the effects of coltan mining on primate populations and promoting the recycling of mobile phones. I also worked as an educator in the Natural Science Museum of Barcelona and at the Barcelona Zoo, and offered wildlife guided walks to school groups in Collserola Natural Park in Spain.

Qualifications

• 2017 - MSc in Primate Conservation, Oxford Brookes University, UK
• 2016 - Postgraduate Diploma in Primatology, University of Girona Foundation, Spain
• 2013 - BSc in Biology (Biodiversity), University of Barcelona, Spain