Life sciences have been present through all phases of my life. I have always been drawned to nature, organisms and ecosystems, a passion that has guided my academic choices. My curiosity about evolution led me to pursue a bachelor's degree in biology, where my final thesis explored cranial disparity in mammals from a macroevolutionary perspective.

This fascination with evolutionary processes deepened during my master's studies in Palaeontology, shifting focus to human evolution. My MSc thesis marked a significant pivot: I began investigating smaller aspects of evolution of only one species, learning to appreciate the importance of subtle changes in human ecology. I started to delve into how the evolution of the respiratory system could have influenced the development of new subsistence strategies such as persistence hunting. With this new research question and challenge in mind, I had to start from the basics: how do we, modern humans, breathe?

This line of inquiry has since evolved into my PhD research, where I continue to balance empirical study with a strong theoretical foundation. Now, I believe the next step in my investigation would be greatly enhanced by the project I propose to the KLI. This stay would allow me to delve deeper into the theoretical aspects of my methodology from an evolutionary perspective, all within a diverse academic ecosystem.