My name is Paula Ortega Lopez. I studied Natural Environment Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and as I have always been in love with the Botanical Garden, I completed the Master's Degree in Biodiversity in Tropical Areas and its Conservation at the Menéndez Pelayo International University together with the CSIC at the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid (RJB). At the end of the master, I went from trees and forests to smaller and unknown organisms such as lichens. I spent a year in Sergio Pérez Ortega's (RJB) research group working with a genus called 'Hydropunctaria', which inhabits cliffs on temperate and cold coasts around the world, forming a very characteristic black stripe.
I am currently doing my doctoral thesis with the CSIC researcher at the RJB and director of the aforementioned Master's Degree in Biodiversity in Tropical Areas and its Conservation Javier Diéguez Uribeondo, studying the evolution of 'saprolegniales', a genus of 'Oomycetes'.
As a child I didn't really like the countryside, but after becoming a scout and spending long periods of time lost in the bush, I realized that it was what I wanted to do in the future. I also love climbing, dancing and reading.