Marina Lorenzo

PhD Student

marina.lorenzo@mpinat.mpg.de

Tel. +49 551 201-26110

I am an evolutionary biologist interested in understanding the processes shaping the diversity and distribution of living organisms. My academic journey began with my Bachelor’s and Master’s studies at the University of Barcelona, where I joined Riutort’s lab to conduct a phylogenetic analysis on a terrestrial planarian from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This project fascinated me so much that it inspired me to explore further the unknown diversity of these organisms and their outstanding regeneration abilities, always from an evolutionary perspective. Currently, as a Ph.D. student in the Rink lab, my research mainly focuses on investigating genetic mosaicism and the relationship between fission and egg-laying by comparing head regeneration ability and reproductive investment in freshwater species. I am particularly interested in employing an integrative research approach that combines fieldwork, laboratory experiments, and bioinformatics to address key questions regarding tissue regeneration and planarian diversity.