Deep in the limestone mountains of Asturias, Spain, wheels of a precious blue cheese stacked on wooden shelves emitted an aroma so wild and musty it made his eyes water. He cut one open to reveal rich networks of blue-green veins and deep blue pockets. Such are the childhood memories of José M. Bruno-Bárcena, who grew up fascinated by the microscopic world inside his extended family’s Cabrales cheese caves.

“I was always very drawn to the universe of bacteria that makes this famous cheese from my homeland,” he says.

He took that curiosity with him all the way to Argentina in his quest to pursue his passion for biology.