I joined the King Lab in September 2009. I am a physician graduated from the National University of Colombia. Since the beginning of my medical training I have been interested in the brain, and further experiences directed my attention to mental diseases, particularly schizophrenia.
My research interests focus on understanding the relationship between antenatal, perinatal and postnatal events - such as stress and obstetric complications - and the posterior development of mental diseases. I follow the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia in which adverse environmental events during foetal life combine with genetic liability resulting in the expression of specific behaviour phenotypes.
Two academic endeavours contributed to my interest in research: First, I worked with the clinical neurophysiology of development team from the National University of Colombia, which explored the impact of pathological obstetrical conditions on neonatal neurodevelopment. Following this, I worked as part of a multidisciplinary team in immunology, Georgetown University, where I worked as a research assistant exploring clinical traits of the center’s patients. As a physician I worked with pregnant women applying prevention strategies to reduce the impact of maternal complications on foetal morbidity and mortality. This gave me the opportunity to expand my knowledge about maternal risk factors and developmental outcomes. My objective is to pursue a career in mental