Yara Rodrigues is specialized in Molecular and Cellular Biology (Universidade Federal da Paraiba – Brazil), and has previously worked on genetics and immunology of parasites. Currently, she is a Ph.D. student (Fellow from PGCD- Graduate Program Science for Development) at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Portugal, aiming to understand the role of phenotypic plasticity in adaptation to different environments, as well as the molecular and genetic mechanisms behind those processes. Since the PGCD calls their students back to their own country after finishing the Ph.D., she thinks that the knowledge she is going to acquire can be important to study how organisms can cope with changes in the environment. This is an important research field to develop in Cabo Verde, since it is constituted by small islands that can be particularly affected by climate changes. Furthermore, Yara also wants to encourage the scientific interest in her country, because it is still poorly developed in this area.