I am originally from Mexico and did my undergrad at UNAM in Mexico City. It was during those initial lab experiences that I first discovered electrophysiology and became fascinated by ion channels and by the intricate ways they function within neurons to allow them to respond to inputs, encode information, and perform computations.
I pursued my Ph.D. at Brandeis University where I focused on the study of homeostatic plasticity, a type of cell-autonomous plasticity that is thought to underlie the ability of cortical circuits to adapt to global changes in input, and discovered that it can contribute to destabilizing circuits during development and lead to epilepsy if left unchecked. That work led me to become interested in developing the expertise and toolset to interrogate how neural plasticity mechanisms acting at the cellular level impact computations at the brain systems level.
I now pursue these interests in Susan Dymecki’s lab, where I study the neuromodulatory actions of a specialized population of serotonin neurons with strong interconnectivity to limbic brain regions involved in emotional memory formation and drug use disorders.
Beyond the lab, realizing what a huge impact mentorship has had in my career path fuels my interest in learning how to become the kind of mentor I would have liked to have throughout my winding path in science. This is also why I have championed the creation of a mentoring program connecting incoming Ph.D. students, senior students, and postdoctoral fellows in the Genetics department. My goal with the program is to help mentees have better access to the tools, support, and network they need to define what truly matters to them, guide the next steps in their careers and find the kind of mentorship they need to truly thrive and not just ‘survive’ during their Ph.D.