Emilia Matallana, at the headquarters of the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio).

Emilia Matallana Redondo is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Valencia (UV) and has been director of the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), a joint center of the UV and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). This interview focuses on her research, academic and science dissemination career, due to her retirement at the end of the academic year this year. came. He has published more than 60 articles in international and national journals and has directed several biotechnological improvement projects for yeast. In addition, she has participated as an expert in food biotechnology in various research evaluation agencies and in companies in the oenological sector and has developed scientific communication activities. After completing his doctorate with an Extraordinary Award and a Fulbright postdoctoral stay at the University of Pennsylvania, Matallana returned to the UV. His research, developed mainly at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA) of the CSIC and later at I2SysBio, has been funded by groups of excellence and R&D&I projects. How did you become interested in science and, in particular, by wine yeasts?

Since I was little I have been curious. I liked everything that had to do with nature in all its aspects. This interest was greatly stimulated early in my life by my older brother, who was an amateur biologist and who instilled in me a love of biology. Then, the interest in wine yeasts already arose during my time as a researcher, particularly when I returned from Spain after my postdoctoral stay. I returned very convinced that in Spain things were going to evolve as they did abroad and that research had to be done in applied fields with economic, social and industrial repercussions. text-align:justify">“I returned very convinced that things were going to evolve in Spain like they did abroad and that research had to be done in applied fields with economic, social and industrial repercussions”

His line of research first focused on the understanding of chromatin and the gene regulation ofS. cerevisiae, what could you tell me about those years of basic research?

It is the pleasure of learning, of knowing. It doesn't matter if that is going to be of immediate interest or not, but research is being done and sometimes important things are being discovered. I have a memory from that time of research, my mother's comment the day I defended my doctoral thesis, which was: “I guess everything you have said is important, I haven't understood anything.” This comment summarizes, in part, what basic research is, which in my case was deciphering the importance of the position of nucleosomes in a yeast gene to regulate its expression. I have always felt pleasure in investigating things that are not known and in providing explanations of what a biological system is and how it works. src="http://www.uv.es/cdciencia/images/2%20emilia%20web">

His research group is currently working on the biotechnological improvement of industrial yeasts. What impact does this study have on society?  The main impact is that it can lead to proposing solutions to technological problems. Improvements are obtained that offer technological advantages, which results in an improvement for winemakers and wine consumers. Also, our research is an option to explain science in a much simpler way. From the dissemination of science, the most important contributions to society may be a vehicle to explain science in a more understandable way. Scientists who know something in one area may be completely ignorant in another. Society is capable of understanding science, it just has to be explained. I remember a few years ago when much progress was made in research in particle physics and the Higgs boson. I, who am a scientist, didn't understand anything. We asked an expert scientist to give us a talk to understand this branch of physics and he did it.

He is currently part of a project together with Agustín Aranda, senior scientist at the CSIC, with whom he co-directs the Yeast Research Group Industrial. Could you explain to us what it consists of?

The purpose of the project is to investigate aspects of the life of wine yeasts that are relevant in their industrial uses from knowledge at the genetic, biochemical and cell signaling levels. This project is highly focused on aspects of improving the wine production process and aims to provide solutions in the current framework of sustainability and climate change. In reality, it is a continuity of a set of projects that began in 1995 and arises as a response from the research group to that basic knowledge previously carried out in molecular biology in yeast. another. Society is capable of understanding science, we just have to explain it”

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style="margin-bottom:11px; text-align:justify">What have been the main results of this project?

Our group has provided results of interest from the basic research of yeast and they have had an application in the industrial field. To begin with, we have found some molecular mechanisms of the adaptation of yeasts to adverse conditions and, particularly, adaptation to oxidative stress as one of the most relevant characteristics at an industrial level. In some cases it could be expected, but in others not, since there are processes in which oxygen does not participate and we have discovered that oxidative stress is the basis of many cellular damages in adverse conditions. text-align:justify">Then, from a more applied point of view, our most important contributions have been proposals for biotechnological improvement for wine production processes. For example, we have provided results on the application of natural antioxidants in the processes in which yeast participates to improve protection against oxidative stress, mentioned Previously, our work at the molecular and systems biology level of yeast behavior in industrial processes has led us to propose and execute directed evolution experiments in the laboratory to get yeast to mutate and evolve towards improved behavior in wine production. text-align:justify">

What advice would you give to someone starting their career in research?

years, research in Spain and in general in the world was much less advanced and the research career was simpler. What I mean is that it was easier to make a living from a scientific career and enjoy it, so the advice at that time would have been: go for it, go ahead! Now, however, the answer cannot be the same, but I try to convey a positive, although thoughtful message. Research is the best career one can do if it is clear that it is the career of one's life. Therefore, my advice would be to first assess in a very serious and calm manner how much the research motivates you and how much satisfaction you think it will bring you. You are not going to be a millionaire, you will not have many vacations and it will require a significant effort. Plus, there will be some personal sacrifices to make, sure, but if the rewards satisfy you, you will be very happy.

Apart from his interest in research, he has also carried out numerous activities related to scientific communication. Do you plan to continue dissemination in the future?

Yes. It is the only part of my work that I would like to preserve above all else. I plan to continue with everything I have been doing so far; collaboration with the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the UV or free collaborations with secondary school teachers that I know or through Sapiencia and in collaboration with the City Council of Sagunto, my city. any scientific book?

Of course I would like to, scientific production in all its areas is an objective for the vast majority of researchers. I have to admit that I have never considered it as an immediate goal because I didn't see myself having the time to be able to do it, but I admit that I really like writing and I enjoy doing it. As for the translation, it is obviously not my own work and I always intended to contribute as little as possible so that it was a literal translation of what Brenner had said in his interview, which served as the basis for the book. However, I really enjoyed contributing as a translator by adding footnotes to the text that helped the reader better understand some of the characters and concepts that Brenner named. text-align:justify">“Research is the best career that one can do if you are clear that it is the career of your life”

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“The key is to give a very honest message about the problem we want to solve, explain possible biotechnological solutions and make an adequate assessment of possible risks versus benefits”

What, according to you, has been the impact of biotechnology in the field of science?

I think that the impact has been enormous in recent years, particularly since the last quarter of the 20th century or so far. When the knowledge of genetic information explodes, which is the basis of modern biotechnology, that is when great impacts begin to be observed. However, I would like to highlight that it is an impact that we professionals in the biotechnology, but if one asks citizens, the impact is yet to come or perhaps it is beginning to be appreciated by society. In part, we owe this to the pandemic that we have recently experienced, since it has served to raise awareness of some aspects in which biotechnology can be relevant. It can be said that biotechnology is as infinite as there are living beings and options for improvement are available to us. occur.

What do you think is needed to increase interest in scientific culture and biotechnology?

You need to explain it well to get people excited about biotechnology and if it is explained at the level of knowledge of your interlocutor, interest will be awakened immediately. The key is to give a very honest message. of the problem we want to solve, explain the possible biotechnological solutions and make an adequate assessment of possible risks versus benefits. I usually give informative talks on biotechnology and what I like to do in them is choose examples that can be understood relatively easily by a non-specialized audience. Whenever I give a talk like this, I must emphasize that the result is impressive because the people who listen to it do not have any scientific training, but they understand perfectly what this field of science contributes and this is the most important thing.

After teaching at the University of Valencia for more than 30 years, do you consider that education at the university level fails in any aspect?

I think it fails in many aspects, although not as a consequence of a lack of interest on the part of the teaching staff, the students or universities. It is very difficult to change the way of doing things, even when you are aware of the need and this leads to the fact that, on many occasions, the changes are far behind the moment in which the need appears. Problems are detected relatively early, but then it is very difficult for us to move the machinery necessary to make these modifications.

transversal such as, for example, learning to plan, to work as a team, etc. We have a problem with evaluation. I think that the ideal at the current time would be an oral evaluation, in the form of an interview, to facilitate fluidity in communication between the people being evaluated and the evaluator, but this is incompatible with having 80 students in the classroom. Another problem that fails in higher education is personalized academic tutoring by teachers to students. This is impossible in our university system, while in certain universities in Europe and the rest of the world this exists and gives very good results. In the more than 30 years that I have been a teacher, I have seen opportunities for change that have been wasted.

“In the more than 30 years that I have been a teacher, I have seen opportunities for change that have been wasted”

She has been director of the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio) from 2020 to 2024. What has been her contribution?

of administrative management than a scientific direction. Despite this, the experience of the four years has been very positive and perhaps an important factor for this has been, precisely, the short life of this institute. Being only 7 years old, the staff, the structures and the internal organization are not consolidated, but precisely the fact of being "under construction" can become an advantage, because we do not have inherited burdens that no one is capable of throwing overboard, although everyone knows that they hinder progress in recent years. For 18-24 months as director I have been lucky enough to coordinate a team of researchers who want to build a center of excellence and which has made me really enjoy the last stage of management. The I2SysBio is a scientific project with the possibility of obtaining mentions of excellence and of placing itself on the national and international scene as a reference center in systems biology. text-align:justify">

He has also been part of the Motivem Program developed by the University of Valencia in collaboration with ADEIT. What were your aspirations to participate as secretary of the academic council and co-director of said program?

It was worth creating an academic council and generating a program structure that would allow us to do many more things. I was happy to accept being the spokesperson for this group of teachers in the form of secretary of the academic council, as it seemed to me that it was the best contribution I could make to the program.