Isabel comes from Castelo Branco in Portugal and gained her degree from the University of Coimbra.  She completed her PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Manchester with Professor Caroline Dive where she worked on increasing the effectiveness of chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.

Isabel joined Dr Ester Hammond's team at the Gray Institute in 2007, focusing on characterising the DNA damage response in hypoxic cells.  This has led to six research papers so far and two book chapters.

Isabel will take up her new position at the beginning of September at the Department of Biological Sciences.  She plans to set up a research group looking into how hypoxia drives cells to become mobile - one of the drivers that can lead to formation of metastases.