Dr Bárbara Villa Marcos studied undergraduate chemistry at the University of Oviedo (Spain), specialising in organic chemistry. She completed her final-year research as an Erasmus student with Prof. Jianliang Xiao at the University of Liverpool, where she later undertook a PhD focused on the development and mechanistic investigation of iridium-catalysed asymmetric reductions. She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Leicester with Prof. Dai Davies on acetate-assisted C–H activation.

Bárbara’s academic career in chemistry education began in 2016, when she was appointed Teaching Laboratory Manager at the University of Leicester. She joined the University of Nottingham in 2019 as a Teaching Associate and is now an Assistant Professor in Chemistry Education. Since 2024, she has also served as Associate Director of Natural Sciences, contributing to strategic leadership and the enhancement of interdisciplinary science education.