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At Chaperone, Raquel Oliveira aims to use her personal experience to advise other scientists on how to best prepare for particularly challenging aspects of academic career, including writing competitive grants, applying for academic jobs and initiating their own independent research group. Raquel is an Associate Professor at Católica Medical School and the head of the Chromosome Dynamics lab at Católica Biomedical Research Centre in Portugal, where she also serves as vice director. Raquel studied biochemistry at the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, in Portugal. In 2002, she entered the first edition of the Doctoral Programme in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine of CNC (University of Coimbra) and did her PhD studies under the supervision of Professor Claudio Sunkel, at the Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMC), University of Porto. Part of her PhD work was performed at the University of Bayreuth, Germany, in collaboration with Dr. Stefan Heidmann in Christian’s Lehner’s lab. After concluding her PhD in 2007, she started a post-doctoral position with Professor Kim Nasmyth, in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford. During her stay in the UK, she was involved in the creation of PARSUK – Portuguese Association of Researchers and Students in the United Kingdom. In July 2012 she moved back to Portugal to establish her own research group. Throughout her career, Raquel has made critical contributions to uncover how chromosome morphology influences the fidelity of cell division, with several papers published in highly prestigious journals. As a group leader, she has trained several young scientists at various career stages, with most continuing their academic path. She has secured very competitive funding (a total of >5M€), including an ERC Starting Grant and an ERC Consolidator Grant. In 2016, Raquel was awarded the prestigious “Prémio Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira” (“Revelation Award”), attributed yearly to a Portuguese woman of outstanding professional achievements.
Chaperone plays a vital role in today’s future. I witnessed firsthand how they played an instrumental role in widening the horizon of our Ph.D. students. Through a very well-structured entrepreneurial bootcamp, Chaperone consultants managed to deliver actionable knowledge that I have no doubt will help our researchers streamline more sustainable careers.
The session with Chaperone was amazing! I’ve got a lot of insights and I feel like I know more about myself and what I want to do in life! Absolutely mind blown! Thank you so much!
I had two sessions with Chaperone, one to prepare a competitive CV able to make me stand out, and another to prepare for an interview. Both sessions went really well, with the advice being clear and very useful, with an emphasis on the small things which ultimately made a big difference.
My session was very challenging and clarifying. The consultant was a very intelligent and open minded specialist and defied me to push my limits while understanding my reality, and helped me to organize my thoughts regarding my doubts, empowering me to make a clear and fundamented decision. I highly recommend Chaperone.
With Chaperone, it has been possible to tailor and deliver career support programs that match the needs of the students and researchers at Karolinska Institute. We appreciate Chaperones’ well-structured operations management, a wide range of career-development-related topics and activities, and the great career consultants. We look forward to continuing this fruitful collaboration!
The increase in complexity surrounding the science job market emphasizes the need for career counselling and coaching, in both the private and academic settings. All science professionals should take advantage of platforms that help them identify or develop the skills they need to navigate this job market.
If you have any questions please contact us.