1. What is your profession and how long have you been in the research and science world? The idea is to write a mini biography, which will be included at the beginning of the interview.
I studied Physics at the University of Barcelona, did an MSc in Geophysics from TU Delft, ETH Zurich and RWTH Aachen and a PhD in Applied Geophysics at Imperial College London. I am currently a Research Fellow at the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College in London, where I lead a multi-disciplinary team of PDRAs and PhD students, broadly focused on investigating the use of advanced wave-based imaging methods in the fields of medicine and renewable energy. I have been involved in research for the past 10 years.
2. Why did you choose this profession and what motivated you to do it?
I am passionate about understanding the world that surrounds us, and I always wanted to devote myself to developing new technology / scientific ideas that could help improve people’s life.
3. What is the role of Imperial College London within QUSTom??
We bring the expertise in image reconstruction, algorithms, and data analysis with the goal of obtaining sub-millimeter resolution images of the breast to improve breast cancer detection. Our role is to bring in the science that is used to generate the breast images in this project.
4. In your opinion, what do you consider to be the distinctive element of QUSTom compared to other projects developing techniques against breast cancer?
The QUSTom project is quite unique because we are doing a 3D reconstruction of the breast using ultrasound at high resolution. On the one hand, the technology we use is painless and safe, so it can be repeated as many times as we want. The device also allows us to obtain very high-resolution images, just like other gold-standard techniques. At the moment, this makes it very unique.
We also have a very cohesive and multidisciplinary team of people working on the project, such as radiologists, scientists, engineers and regulatory experts, and that is also unique for this project because it means we have access to a hospital device, hardware and software. All this makes it a very exciting project.
5. What do you hope QUSTom can achieve beyond the life of the project? (recorded)
I’ve been very close to a relative that has suffered from breast cancer, so my expectations for this project, both within the project and beyond its duration, are quite high. I expect that what we achieve during this project can actually change the way in which breast cancer is detected at an early stage. I hope that in a few years, the technology we are developing now can be applied to everyone, everywhere, at any age, and for any type of breast, so that we can improve the detection so much that the detection itself is the best cure for breast cancer. And I also hope that this technology allows us to produce high-resolution imaging devices that are affordable and can be deployed in emerging economies, where access to breast imaging is limited.
6. Do you have any advice for young researchers who would like to follow in your footsteps?
An important part of being a researcher for me is being passionate, having fun with what you are working on, while being patient and persevering when things do not go according to plan. The outcomes can be very rewarding, but the path is a roller-coaster, and resilience is key. It is also vital to listen to other opinions/ideas and don’t be shy to ask for help when needed and for feedback as often as possible!
