INTERVIEW
JOANA MOSCOSO: “A scientist passionate about science”
J
oana Moscoso, with northern roots, born and raised in Valença do Minho, soon discovered her fascination with bacteria and that she wanted to be a scientist. She entered the Biology course at the Faculdade de Ciências of the Universidade do Porto. In the final year of the course, she left for Umeå University, in Northern Sweden, as an Erasmus student. She studied in Sweden, Australia, UK. And she became a scientist. She has an enviable international background for her age, and several accolades along the way. One of them, the MIT Innovators Under 35 award, the most
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important distinction of the MIT Technology Review, a magazine published by the MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which recognizes talented leaders around the world. She has her feet firmly on the ground, but her dream, in addition to leaving a positive mark on the world, is to open a restaurant.
FIRST, TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF: WHO IS JOANA MOSCOSO PERSONALLY? Inside, Joana is a young woman, cheerful, demanding, curious, ambitious, with her feet firmly on the ground. I like to learn new things, I’m not afraid to speak my mind, I’m
a friend, I’m a companion, I’m a mother, I’m a daughter and I’m a granddaughter. I am also a passionate professional. I’m lazy for sport.
YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT SCIENCE AND INNOVATION. WHEN DID YOU DISCOVER THIS PASSION OF YOURS? It all started when I was 9 years old, when I learned at school that there were very small living beings, invisible to the naked eye, living everywhere around us. These are called bacteria. Knowing of its existence changed my life. I was so fascinated and curious that I decided, in that moment, that I wanted to be a scientist to investigate
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