We are delighted to invite you Genomics Aotearoa’s seminar, on Friday, August 2nd, 3-4pm.
Dr Karla Araya Castro will be presenting For Humans, Plants, and Genomics: Communication is the Key
Questions and discussions are welcome. We encourage you to invite colleagues to join our genomics community and take part in this seminar. Look forward to seeing you there.
Join from PC, Mac, iOS, or Android:
https://otago.zoom.us/j/97097442106?pwd=RlczU3VCdFBmbmt4Yng4VW5OcHdSdz09
Karla Araya Castro is a biotechnologist with a Master’s and PhD in Natural Resources Science. She is currently a visiting postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biochemistry in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago. Her research focuses on nanotechnology applied to plants, specifically using lipid-based nanoparticles for the delivery of specific plant miRNAs.
In parallel with her scientific career, Karla has gained extensive experience in social entrepreneurship and product development across various industries.
In Chile, while completing her undergraduate degree at Universidad de La Frontera, Karla led projects that extended beyond her passion for science. In 2009, she applied to the Melton Foundation and became part of a large international network that actively promotes global citizenship as a way for individuals and organizations to collaborate across boundaries of place and identity to address global challenges. Through this network, Karla participated in various social and intercultural projects and had the opportunity to travel to Germany and China, where she not only gained invaluable knowledge and experience but also came to understand that disability is a matter of context rather than individual limitations.
In 2010, alongside her undergraduate studies, she completed a Diploma in Democratic Leadership. Upon graduating with a degree in Biotechnology, Karla was awarded the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences Prize in recognition of her personal and academic qualities, and her special dedication to promoting the prestige of her career and faculty.
In 2014, she began her PhD studies, and during the same year, through her involvement with the Melton Foundation and the Climate Reality Project, she traveled to South Africa for training and mentoring in climate change at a conference led by Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States. In November of that same year, she traveled to Rio de Janeiro, where she served as a mentor for the development of new leaders in climate reality. In 2016, she represented the Melton Foundation in a D-Lab project, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) program designed to connect innovators from around the world to work on low-cost, high-impact technologies for communities. As part of this initiative, Karla also traveled to Zambia and participated in a co-design summit, where she and the Kafue community in Lusaka developed simple solutions to address contaminated water issues.
In 2018, she participated in a program to tackle industry-based challenges, from which she led the initiative “PicaPellet: A Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Solid Biofuel from Ulex europaeus” for a fuel company. In the same year, she received funding to start “InclusivApp,” an initiative aimed at bridging the information gap regarding urban accessibility in the city of Temuco. Through this project, she was recognized as one of the 100 Women Leaders in the La Araucanía region in 2020.
During the long lockdown in Chile due to COVID-19, she was a lecturer for a course she designed called “Science in Quarantine” at PROENTA-UFRO, a program for children and youth with academic talents.
Karla describes herself as a resilient and somewhat stubborn woman, a mother to Amelia and Máximo, a person with a physical disability, a wheelchair user, and a wine lover.
