Lorena
Escudero
Expertise: Chemistry
Affiliation: Universidad
Católica del Norte
Who you are and what
you do?
My name is Lorena Victoria Escudero. In
1998 I obtained my bachelor's degree in
Chemistry and Metallurgy at the University
Católica del Norte, Antofagasta,
Chile.
Explain
what you learned from last year s expedition
I learned a lot about the development
of microorganisms (cianobacterias, bacterias,
etc) that are able to adapt to extreme
environments. These bacteria can be found
in sediments and waters. Another think
I enjoyed, personally was getting to know
people of different disciplines that are
interested, in the study of this kind of
environment and sharing their experiences.
I am also learning about the development
of life on other planets such as the possibility
of life on Mars
Describe
how you will use information from last
years expedition to perform experiments
for this year s mission
With our studies and the analyses of the
samples we obtained last year, we will
try to find new things that allow us to
compare the results of the first expedition
with that of this year, and to obtain a
more complete information about the life
development in extreme environments. We
would also want to be able to study of
biodiversity at different depth in the
lagoon of the crater.
Career Journey
I am currently working in the Microbiology
Lab at the Universidad Católica del
Norte, Antofagasta, Chile. I am a teacher
in chemistry, and also an assistant for
pharmacy students in the biochemistry laboratory.
How did you get to where
you are?
I wrote my thesis for my bachelor degree
on the work I did for the microbiology lab
at the Universidad Católica del Norte.
Growing up
I grew up in the mining town Chuquicamata.
It is the biggest copper mine in the world
and is located near the city of Calama
in the second region of northern Chile.
What made you study science?
My interest in science started when I was
still very young. I always dreamed about
wearing a white coat and watching through
a microscope. When I started my degree in
chemistry I unfortunately got to wear only
the white coat, the dream of watching through
a microscope was lost. It was only until
I did my thesis; this dream became a reality
again.
It was not so easy because I needed to
learn microbiology and biochemistry, those
subjects that I have never studied before.
Now after I received my chemistry degree
we worked in several interesting research
projects and I immersed myself in the science
world in each of them. We have studied the
microbial mats in salt lakes in the Atacama
Desert, the salt lake of Ascotan and Llamara.
Lately I have been learning molecular biology
techniques; it is very interesting and different
to all the things I worked before. The world
of science is magic and interesting.
Family, hobbies, interests,
etc.
I like music, dancing and cooking. A short
time ago I started to practice escalating.
This is an interesting adventure; I like
the risk, though I respect it. I like to
be alone and take walks on the beach, and
enjoy the sun and sea, it relaxes me.
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