Viridiana is a biologist studying for her PhD in Quantitative and Systems Biology at University of California Merced. Her research is focused on marine genomics of coral-algae symbiosis. She is interested in combined bioinformatics and field research in order to explain the molecular basis of coral bleaching, as well as help understand how these mechanisms evolve in different species. She wants to help to better conserve fragile ecosystems, such as threatened coral reef systems found in her home country of Mexico.