“I’m really happy for this! It has been more than five years of work parallel to my role as head of unit, and I am thankful for the support that both my team and also the heads of Core Facilities have given me. It’s really a team effort”, said Marcela who is co-head of unit at the Bioinformatics and Data Centre.
Marcela’s research focuses on analysis, integration and visualization of high throughput data, as well as the development of bioinformatics tools for clinical applications. Another focus area is education within bioinformatics. Since her disputation, she has published 30 articles in which her method development niche is a clear theme.
A Quality Stamp
As the docent title adds a quality stamp, Marcela also explained that it makes it possible to apply for grants open only if you are an associate professor. This can for example be a requirement for certain ALF grants or other types of funds both in Sweden and internationally.
“These new types of funding will create possibilities both for us as a facility as well as for the research groups using the expertise.”
SSF Grant Gave the Opportunity
When working at a research infrastructure, the academic career path can be tricky as you normally do not conduct your own research but rather have an expert role supporting research. Applying for and receiving a grant from SSF therefore was crucial for Marcela’s work.
“The grant created a possibility for me to work on my own research projects as well as publishing articles and conducting teaching”, Marcela said.
National Project on Career Paths
At the Bioinformatics and Data Centre, several staff members are also aiming for becoming associate professor, which Marcela encourages and facilitates when it comes to creating opportunity for teaching and other requirements.
“We have the possibility to embed for example bioinformaticians and statisticians in research groups where they can be both technical experts but also authors or co-authors and thereby getting the chance to publish scientific articles according to certain criteria”, Marcela explained.
Marcela is also part of a project for creating career paths for staff at different core facilities across Sweden. This project is co-conducted together with among others SciLifeLab, KI, Lund University, and Chalmers.
“It is important that we provide ways for our staff to develop and acquire deeper knowledge, so that we can strengthen their expertise but also create sustainability in our research support.”
What's Ahead
For coming years, Marcela sees herself continuing the development of Core Facilities at GU, working with national projects but also empowering local researchers and clinical staff to use next-level data analysis.
“I think what lies ahead is to continue developing techniques and to link clinical staff with current technology for decisions, treatments, and diagnosis. In the future I would also like to work on a master’s program, aimed for clinical application, disease discovery, and bioinformatic data analysis” Marcela said.
