MSCA Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Cristina Bez recalls her nine-month experience at UC San Diego, USA, as part of her Marie Skłodowska-Curie project, LuxSOM.
By Dr. Cristina Bez, Bacteriology lab and MSCA Postdoctoral Fellow
I spent nine months in San Diego, California, in Prof. Pieter Dorrestein’s lab as part of my Marie Skłodowska-Curie project LuxSOM. My research focuses on a widespread but understudied family of bacterial regulators – LuxR solos – proteins that detect a wide variety of bacterial chemical signals, many of which are still unknown. At UC San Diego, my goal was to use untargeted metabolomics — a method that identifies and analyses all small molecules— to understand how these regulators recognise ligands across diverse chemical spaces.
I arrived not knowing what an MS/MS spectrum really was; I left able to run a Thermo Exploris instrument on my own and analyse the complex datasets it produces using the powerful, open tools the Dorrestein Group is building for microbial and microbiome metabolomics. This hands-on training transformed the way I think about the interface between chemistry and biology.
Metabolomics is like reading a book where only about 15% of the words are known. By using reverse metabolomics strategies, collecting richer data, and sharing datasets publicly, we can gradually “read” more of this molecular language, understanding what these molecules are and what they do. For LuxR solos, expanding that vocabulary is essential. This allows us to map which chemical signals they “hear” in complex communities, such as the plant microbiome. The long-term aim is to design finely tuned bacterial consortia that support sustainable agriculture.
In the lab I found an exceptionally friendly, deeply motivating, and idea-rich environment: a team of a dozen postdocs who immediately made me feel at home, answered every question, and turned corridor conversations into experiments. I attended a considerable number of seminars and conferences that broadened both my knowledge and network of collaborations. I built lifelong personal and scientific friendships with peers who are now starting their own research lines. Most of all, I absorbed the American “do it now” mindset: if something isn’t working, you just haven’t tried the next approach yet!
Beyond the science, San Diego was a daily reminder that “endless summer” is more than a slogan. In nine months, I rarely saw rain; the sun always came out, the coastline is spectacular, and I even swam with leopard sharks (the “vegan” cousins of the shark world) and took surf lessons – hard to resist in a city where everyone surfs! California life moves outdoors: morning coffee walks, hiking paths along the ocean, and a food culture where a perfect taco is never far away. San Diego is the perfect mix of chill vibes and high-tech innovation.
These months sharpened my science and expanded my horizons, and I’m eager to carry that momentum into the next chapter of my research!
