Silvia Basanta has a PhD in evolutionary and reproductive biology. She completed her doctoral studies at the University of Vienna under the supervision of Mihaela Pavlicev. In the context of the FWF-funded project “The evolution of cell-cell communication networks at the fetal-maternal interface,” her thesis approaches the evolution of the luteal phase of the ovarian cycle, gestation length, embryo implantation, and invasive placentation in placental mammals. She also has a background in philosophy and has collaborated with Laura Nuño de la Rosa on how the female body has been portrayed in contemporary evolutionary biology.

In the context of her KLI fellowship, she now focuses on the emerging field of endocrinology in fin de siècle Vienna and Austria in the interwar period.