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New DDLS Fellow: José Cerca

José Cerca, from the Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM), is our latest SciLifeLab & Wallenberg National Program for Data-Driven Life Science (DDLS) Fellow. Learn more about José’s background and ambitions in our latest Q&A article. He will be joining the Evolution & biodiversity DDLS research area.

José is originally from Guarda, a small rural town in Portugal. He earned a BSc in Biology from the University of Coimbra, including an exchange year in Siena, Italy, followed by an MSc in Research in Ecology, also in Coimbra. Eager to pursue a PhD abroad, José applied for around 25 positions before securing a spot at the Natural History Museum in Oslo. After completing his PhD, he moved to the United States for a short postdoc at UC Berkeley. However, with the onset of the pandemic, he decided to return to Europe, first joining the University Museum of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim as a postdoc, and later continuing in a postdoctoral role at the Department of Biosciences at the University of Oslo.
 
How do you think your expertise can contribute to the program?

One thing I have enjoyed doing over the last few years has been simulating data under certain evolutionary scenarios and trying to figure out how our concepts, tools, and approaches can be improved. For instance, several of my MSc students have been simulating data and figuring out under what conditions we obtain false positives or negatives in different tools. We vary the number of specimens used, the strength of the evolutionary processes, and the evolutionary scenarios. I think this is a sound data-driven approach to understanding the complexities of biology!

Shortly describe your research in an easy-to-understand way.

I am interested in how species and their genomes evolve. I use genomic data (reference genomes, population/species-level sampling), together with ecological and phenotypic data from non-model organisms to understand the processes of adaptation and species formation. While I work on multiple lineages, I am especially passionate about evolution on islands, as these offer excellent models for evolutionary research.

How do you think the program and interactions with the other DDLS Fellows will benefit you?

Getting together with people who work on different problems and who have different perspectives on biology will be a scientific gain, as we can support each other, detect each other’s blind spots, and creatively solve issues. I really look forward to collaborating with other DDLS Fellows.

Name one thing that people generally do not know about you.

I really enjoy listening to music, but I feel most people would say that I have a ‘weird taste in music. For instance, I enjoy 8-bit Game Boy-generated sounds and related music. I also listen to Portuguese protest songs.

Where do you see yourself in five years regarding the DDLS aspect?

Ideally, I would like to build a portfolio of publications that showcases how we can best analyze data. This would involve tutorials on how to avoid caveats in data analysis and finding solutions to common problems in genomic data. I’d also like to run workshops and courses where we train PhD students and postdocs in complex genomic analyses.

In one word, describe how you feel about becoming a DDLS Fellow.

Grateful!


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Last updated: 2025-01-30

Content Responsible: Johan Inganni(johan.inganni@scilifelab.se)