A research path across systems and scales.

IRB Barcelona & University of Barcelona

From chemical biology to neural networks

The Crazy About Biomedicine program introduced me to experimental research through cyclic peptides and molecular transport. During my biochemistry degree, I later used modeling, calcium imaging, and an in vitro optogenetic stimulation system in primary rat-neuron cultures to study how functional connectivity and patterned activity develop.

EMBL

Stress and scaling in early mammalian development

In Takashi Hiiragi’s lab, I studied how pre-implantation stress affects gene expression and cell-cycle regulation in mammalian embryos. Using confocal and SPIM microscopy, I developed image-analysis tools that showed embryos halved at the two-cell stage start recovering their cell number only after the 128-cell stage.

HHMI Janelia

Salk Institute

Sonogenetics and non-invasive neuromodulation

With Sreekanth Chalasani, I helped advance sonogenetics by testing the exogenous mechanosensitive channel hsTRPA1 as an ultrasound-sensitive actuator in mammalian cells. This work combined cellular imaging and quantitative analysis and contributed to publications and patents on ultrasound-mediated cellular control.

Harvard University

Neural and glial control of behavioral transitions

I combine virtual-reality behavior, whole-brain calcium imaging, pharmacology, and causal perturbations in larval zebrafish to study how neural and glial systems shape behavioral transitions. This work has identified norepinephrine–astroglial mechanisms involved in perseverance and in the persistent effects of ketamine.