Introducing new member of Bio2Q

We are excited to welcome Ms. Eva Maria Romera Recio as a Postdoctoral Intern at Bio-1 Core of Bio2Q.

“Hello!
I’m Eva, a veterinarian and PhD candidate at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Granada, Spain, supervised by Prof. David Yáñez-Ruiz. I will be joining Bio2Q as a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Daniel Mende’s computational microbiome group.
Over the past few years, my research within the European H2020 “HoloRuminant” project (https://holoruminant.eu) has combined in vivo trials, multi-kingdom analyses, and bioinformatics to understand how early-life microbial colonisation shapes gut development in ruminants, and how nutritional interventions can modulate this process. Working with large cohorts of unweaned ruminants, I found that pre-weaning microbial imprinting persists months after diets converge, that a conserved core microbiota is established well before weaning, and that a single early-life faecal transplant can simultaneously reshape gut communities and modulate mucosal immunity, highlighting the translational potential of microbiome-based therapies. This journey has allowed me to collaborate with teams in Australia (CSIRO), Scotland (SRUC), and Spain (IRTA). Beyond developing new methodological skills and working within a collaborative research environment, I discovered that the most interesting hypotheses often emerge when things do not go exactly as planned, pushing me out of my comfort zone and encouraging a more flexible and creative way of thinking.
What drew me to Bio2Q is the opportunity to take the next step in my career by diving deeper into computational approaches for studying biological complexity. Prof. Mende’s group feels like exactly the right place to strengthen my skills in genome-resolved metagenomics and machine learning, while bringing along the biological intuition that comes from years of working closely, and occasionally uncooperatively, with living systems. Looking ahead, my long-term research ambition is to understand how the microbiome influences cognitive aging and neurodegenerative processes, with a particular focus on the gut-brain axis and microbiome-derived biomarkers and therapies.
Beyond science, coming to Japan has been a quiet aspiration for some time, as it feels like a place where my scientific goals and personal curiosity can naturally come together. For me, this also means joining a research culture that values collaboration, mentorship, and shared growth, while continuing to contribute to and support the scientific community.
When I’m not thinking about microbes, you will probably find me exploring galleries or parks, getting lost in a new neighbourhood, or stubbornly sitting somewhere sketching what I see around me, as I am a bit of a romantic observer.
I truly look forward to what lies ahead at Bio2Q.”