BEYOND THE LAB COAT: Raquel Gonçalves

Raquel Gonçalves is an assistant investigator at INEB since 2009. Natural from Lisbon, the beautiful capital of Portugal, she was born on the 2nd of September of 1978. During her Chemical Engineering degree at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Raquel wonderer for new and challenging research opportunities. With her chest full of courage, she went to University of Nevada (Reno, USA) for 3 months as a visiting student, before she concluded her degree.
Always pursuing the fascinating world of engineering and biology, Raquel embarked on her PhD in Biotechnology at IST, during which she went back to the lab in Reno.

There she gathered both an excellent experience and, more important, good colleagues and friends with who she still maintains collaborations. In 2007, she could not resist to the charming city of Porto and, aiming to continue growing as a scientist in the field, she came to INEB for a post-doctoral position.
During the past years, Raquel had been involved in a lot of projects and her engineering background reflects the way she deals and conducts all the projects and her students: a very practical and focused manner.
She is also responsible for INEB’s projections outdoors namely to the younger public with the visits to high schools and participation in Porto de Crianças projects. Raquel is a much cherished person to INEBians, not only because of her great scientific contributions but also because of her huge smile and good mood.

Main Challenge

In general, my main scientific interest is to explore the potential of stem cells for tissue regeneration. What motivates me is to believe that science will have an impact on patients’ life, and also to know that I can pass the word to younger students.

INEB in one word
Family. When I arrived, the people at INEB made me feel like I was part of a close family.

Beyond the lab coat...
Nowadays, spend time with my family and play with my daughters. But I like to play team sports, go to the cinema and go out with my friends.

^{Granada, 2011 (TERMIS)}

The Movie
“Dead Poets Society” (Peter Weir, 1989)

The Book
“Pavilion of Women”, by Pearl Buck (1946)

The Trip
Two favourite trips: San Francisco and Açores. Now, I want to discover the landscapes of Scotland, Ireland, Finland and Canada.

If I wasn’t a scientist, I would be...
Probably I would like to plant vegetables and have a farm.