Lina joined the Biology Department in 2017 as a Sponsored Researcher. In 2015, she gained her undergraduate degree in Environmental Engineering at Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) and in 2016 her degree in Microbiology from the same university. As an undergraduate, she completed a placement at a biotechnology company in Bogotá on a project that assessed the potential of halophile isolates for production of antimicrobial and cytotoxic compounds. After that, she undertook an internship in Ahner’s Lab at Cornell University (U.S.) where she worked on the optimization of chloroplast regulatory elements for phytase expression in microalgae.

Her work at Edge Hill as a sponsored researcher focused on novel antimicrobial compounds from actinomycetes isolated from an unexplored and unique environment in Colombia. Now, as a PhD student since January 2019, her project will continue to explore the metabolome of these bacteria by integrating metabolic and genomic data to uncover novel antimicrobial compounds. 

• Identification of novel antimicrobials in actinomycetes and elucidation of their biosynthetic pathways.
• Use of different approaches for upregulation and optimization of antibiotics production.

- Genetics and Evolution (Tutor)

- Food Microbiology (Tutor)

- Introduction to Cell Biology (Tutor)

- Research Methods (Tutor)

- Lab Masterclass (Tutor)

- Fastrack Biology (Tutor)

- Biology Support Sessions (Tutor)