Cristina Crava: In search of a solution for pests

Iam Cristina Crava,amolecular entomologist in theBIOTECMED group at the University of Valencia, where we study the relationship between insects and their entomopathogens (bacteria or viruses) and plants.Our long-termgoal is to develop products or techniquestoimprove the use of entomopathogens in crops to control pests.We arealsocarrying outbasicresearch as part ofa collaborative project funded by theHuman Frontier ScienceProgramme(HFSP), an international researchfundingprogramme,withdifferentteamsbasedin Castellón, London and Peru.Inthisproject,weareinvestigatinghowbaculovirusescanmanipulatethesenseofsmellofcaterpillars,turningthemintozombiesandchangingthewaytheyinteractwithplants.

Mydayusuallyconsists of sittingat the computer, answering emails, planning and writing.Then I usually gointothe lab, talk to my students, see what they are doing and, in special cases, sit down and look at the results.Then I go back to the office and do computer and bioinformatics analyses for the different projects we are doing or, if I have time, read some articles.

Youcan do good sciencein Spain.Ihave had direct research experience in other countries, such asItaly and Germany,and I do not think Spain is the worst in Europe, but you have to work harder than in other countries and in the end it can be exhausting.

This article was originally published inMètode, the science journal of the University of Valencia.