a i gomezvarela

I hold a PhD in Photonics and Laser Technologies from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Spain. After an internship at the Ferdinand- Braun-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnick (FBH), I joined the Photonics4Life Group at the USC, first as an assistant researcher, subsequently as a PhD scholar thanks to a FPU grant from the Spanish government. My PhD focused on the study and development of active Graded Index (GRIN) optical materials for laser beam shaping purposes. During my PhD I made two research internships at Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio (ICV-CSIC) and International Iberian Laboratory of Nanotechnology (INL). I also worked as a postdoctoral researcher on a comparative worldwide study of safety standards for industrial applications at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CIQUS) of the USC, acting as a scientific advisor for fashion, cosmetic and technological enterprises. Later I moved as a postdoctoral researcher to the Applied Nano Optics Group at the Life Sciences Department at INL in Braga, Portugal, thanks to a fellowship from the Xunta de Galicia. In this fellowship I mainly focused on the design and applications of a microscopy platform that combines super-resolution Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) and Quantitative Imaging (QI) nanomechanical mapping Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). In addition, I also applyed a variety of microscopic imaging tools to study lipid bilayers, liposomes and nanoparticle-lipid complexes. Currently, I am a principal investigator at USC leading a project for the development of new strategies against antibiotic resistant bacteria using laser technologies. I have contributed to 37 publications (Scopus), several conference proceedings and 5 book chapters; I am also the co-inventor of two patents. Furthermore, I have contributed to numerous scientific projects, some in collaboration with SME’s. I was the promoter of the USC-OSA and USC-EPS Student Chapters, where I served as vicepresident and president. I have received scholarships from the Spanish federal and Galician regional governments, the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), and Banco Santander. My track record of scientific outreach activities includes, among others, the development of an educational software tool for high school students and several teaching activities. Moreover, I am an associated editor at Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Nano Materials Science and Optica Pura y Aplicada journals.