Victoria Garcia-Sakai joined ISIS as an instrument scientist for the neutron backscattering spectrometers IRIS and OSIRIS‚ in 2007. In November 2019, she took over as Group Leader of the Molecular Spectroscopy Group, which houses both basckattering spectrometers, as well as TOSCA (vibrational spectrometer) and VESUVIO (high energy). Prior to this she was an instrument scientist on the High Flux Backscattering Spectrometer at the NIST‚ Center for Neutron Research in MD, USA. A chemical engineer by training at Imperial College London, she has concentrated her scientific career on understanding the behaviour of macromolecules, throughout her PhD at Imperial, her postdoc at Pennsylvania State University and her time at neutron facilities.¿ Her research focuses on the exploitation neutron scattering techniques, in particular neutron spectroscopy, to better understand the Dynamics in Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysical systems. Neutron scattering is an ideal tool since it is non-destructive, neutrons are highly penetrating, and probes atomic/molecules lengthscales and timescales which overlap with that from simulations. Specific areas of interest include: - ¿Cryopreservation - The mechanism underlying stabilization is still not well understood.Trehalose, a disaccharide found in organisms that survive desiccation over long periods of time, is known to have a stabilizing effect on biologicals and is used for the long-term storage of membranes, proteins and cells. For membranes, trehalose lowers the melting temperature of the bilayer preventing leakage during freezing and drying of cells. For low temperature storage, glycerol may be a better candidate. - Dynamics of biological macromolecules - The dynamics of biological macromolecules span many orders of magnitude, and in addition to their structure play a key role in their function in living organisms. Understanding the dynamics of functional groups in protein as a function of hydration, pH and environment in general will help us understand how proteins function. In particular membrane proteins represent a important research challenge, since they participate in many¿ life processes. Protein-protein interactions, lipid-protein interaction, lipid matrix behavior are all integral parts; an understanding of the dynamics in these systems in combination with structural studies should give us a complete picture. - Functional polymers - In order to create new materials with specific properties, we often rely on blending of two polymers or making nanocomposites. These have a very broad range of applications given their enhanced properties, but also provide very interesting fundamental science, that on confinement on the nanoscale. For example, blending two thermodynamically miscible polymers with vastly different glass transition temperatures (Tg) creates dynamical immiscibility, or understanding the reduction of Tg with the addition of nanoparticles similar to that observed in thin films.