PhD student in Cancer and Genomic Sciences
What is your research background and current field of research?
I hold a degree in Biology and an MSc in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Following my MSc, I was eager to pursue a scientific career through a PhD, and in 2025 I joined the College of Medicine and Health of the University of Birmingham as a doctoral student within the Marie Curie DANIO‑ReCODE project. This European research network aims to study vertebrate tissue regeneration. My project will specifically focus on analysing the 3D genome organisation in the context of zebrafish telencephalon injury.
Which BEAR Services have been most helpful to you in your research?
The university’s supercomputer, BlueBEAR, and the Research Data Store (RDS) are my essential daily drivers. I access BlueBEAR both via the terminal (SSH) and through the online BEAR Portal, where I run apps such as RStudio or JupyterLab. The RDS makes it possible to safely store large volumes of data, and I wouldn’t be able to properly use BlueBEAR without it. On top of these services, I also use BEAR GitLab to keep track of projects and collaborate on code development with others.
How widespread do you think BEAR Services are known in your School and how do you plan to spread the word?
I think BlueBEAR and the Research Data Store are known and frequently used by many researchers in my school, especially through the BlueBEAR Portal. Nevertheless, given the size of the college and school, and the fact that I’m still quite new, one of my main objectives as a BEAR Champion will be to learn more about BEAR services usage and promote them in areas where they are not yet well known.
How can researchers in your School/College contact you?
You can contact me through my email: d.gonzalezmenendez@bham.ac.uk
What's an interesting fact about you?
I like watching cartoons for fun, be it anime or any other thing that comes my way.