Paloma Gonzalez Bellido and her husband, Trevor Wardill, of the University of Cambridge were staff scientists at the MBL between September 2011 and October 2013. They continue to collaborate with MBL Senior Scientist Roger Hanlon. In this interview with Journal of Experimental Biology, Gonzalez Bellido describes her career path including the impact of her MBL research experiences. Gonzalez Bellido is a Lecturer in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, where she investigates insect vision.
By Kathryn Knight
Why did you become interested in science?
I grew up in Malaga in Spain. No one in my family is a scientist, but as a kid I used to go to my grandparents’ farm with my sister and we were allowed to explore, to be adventurous and to do experiments of our own; I always thought that was fun. I also remember that when I was 5 years old we were watching something on TV and I asked my parents, ‘Why are they getting medals?’ and my parents explained that it was the Nobel Prize ceremony. I asked my mum, ‘How do you get one of those medals?’. She told me that you have to be a really great scientist, and I said, ‘I’m going to get one of those’. Read more …
Photo: Paloma Gonzalez Bellido