May 2010 Scientist of the Month: Sara Branco
by Heather King
“I can’t remember when I decided to become a biologist,” Sara Branco tells me, “I guess biology chose me, since I never considered pursuing any other route.” Sara is a mycologist at the Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Chicago and is weeks away from receiving her PhD.
Sara began her career in her home country of Portugal, where she fell in love with fungi at 16 after a field trip. “Soon I realized that in my country there were very few mycologists, and that even fewer studied fungal ecology and evolution.” Sara wanted to study just that, and after earning her bachelor’s degree, went on to work for the Montesinho Natural Park as a mycologist for three years. She loved the work so much that she stayed on even when bureaucracy prevented her from receiving a paycheck for over a year.
After her stint at Montesinho, she earned a Fullbright scholarship to study in the United States and began her graduate work in the University of Chicago’s Committee on Evolutionary Biology. Much of her time is spent at the Field Museum of Natural History interacting with a broad diversity of scientists from mycologists to systematists.
Sara’s research focuses on the symbiosis between fungi and plants that live in soils with extremely high levels of heavy metals. She often uses her research as a topic during outreach activities and says that adapting her research for outreach with fifth-graders, high school students, teachers, and college students is not only rewarding, but has helped her immensely with clarifying her own ideas.
Sara’s motivation, both personal and professional, was partly inspired by Catarina Costa, her high school math teacher. “Catarina played a very important role in making me realize that the sky is the limit and that you just have to be focused and work hard to achieve your goals,” Sara says. “Interacting with and learning from her was definitely important in defining my personal goals and overcoming barriers.”
Sara is a gifted teacher herself and always shows an infectious enthusiasm for science. I nominated Sara for Scientist of the Month after TAing an undergraduate Biological Diversity course with her at the University of Chicago. Her passion for reaching each student was impressive, as was her willingness to challenge the effectiveness and accuracy of the existing curriculum. Sara herself is an example of how much a teacher can affect the lives of her students, and she is passing that influence on.
Sara is pursuing an academic career, where she can both investigate and teach. “The idea of teaching both in a classroom and my own lab seems like a very fulfilling route,” Sara says. We wish her luck in all future endeavors!
Nomination and article submitted by AWIS Chicago Staff Writer Heather King. Ms. King is a PhD candidate at University of Chicago. Photograph courtesy of Maria Alice Neves.
*Know a scientist you think should be featured in an upcoming “Scientist of the Month” article? Send nominations to Jessica Reimer. Your nominee does not need to be an AWIS member or a woman, but should promote the advancement of women in science, technology, mathematics and engineering.
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