I finished my major in Biology with honours from the ESPOL Polytechnic University (Guayaquil – Ecuador) in 2014. I conducted my undergraduate research project in the Antartica investigating the potential of the Antarctic sea urchin (S. neumayeri) as a biomarker of climate change and pollution. In 2015, I was awarded with a scholarship from the Ecuadorian National Government to conduct my MRes studies in Translational Neuroscience at UCL, where I joined Isaacs’ lab. My research consisted on the development of a biomarker for C9orf72 ALS/FTD. I was soon recruited as a Junior Lecturer/Researcher in the Faculty of Life Sciences at ESPOL where I collaborated with Christopher Palmer, MD-PhD (McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School) investigating the potential of the ketogenic diet as a treatment for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders.
RESEARCH AREA
My field of research is related to nutrient energy metabolism of the early human brain in health and disease. Currently, my DPhil research project is aiming to elucidate whether specific modulations of the metabolism of neuronal progenitor subtypes during Zika virus infection act as a potential cause for the different brain abnormalities observed over each trimester.
https://orcid.org/ 0000-0003-1268-2304
Outside the lab
As a true Ecuadorian who loves a carb loading, I’m into bodybuilding training and constant dieting – odd combination for bodybuilding I play the violin. Enjoy the outdoors with sports being the right motivation after a long day in the lab! you name it, I’ll try it… from football to slacklining…
