Elena Cerdán is currently a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellow at ICM. She completed her PhD at the University of Southampton in 2021, specialising in marine microbial ecology with a focus on cyanobacterial nitrogen-fixing microbes and nutrient-limitation in the open ocean. Following her PhD, Elena worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) in Marseille, France, from 2022 to 2024, supported by a MOPGA Campus France Postdoctoral Fellowship. At MIO, she expanded her expertise to include non-cyanobacterial nitrogen-fixing microbes, studying their interactions with marine particles and their impact on organic matter fluxes. Elena's research interests encompass the diversity, abundance, and lifestyles of marine microbes, as well as their interactions within various ecosystems. Her work aims to unravel the complex roles these organisms play in marine environments, contributing to our understanding of global biogeochemical cycles. With over six years of specialised experience in marine microbial ecology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics, Elena has developed expertise in the marine nitrogen cycle, diazotroph diversity, and the factors influencing nitrogen fixation. Her extensive laboratory experience at recognised institutions such as NOC and ICM-CSIC has equipped her with skills in molecular biology techniques (including nucleic acid extractions and RT/qPCR) and advanced omics and bioinformatics analyses (such as 16S rRNA and transcriptomics using R software).