Academic titles
In 2015, I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the URV, Tarragona, Spain. In 2017, I completed a Master’s degree in Central Nervous System Science, at the URV. In 2018, I obtained a Master’s degree in Pharmacology, at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain.
I am an Associate Professor at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). I have been teacher in the Master's degree in Altered States of Consciousness (IfopEEC-Universidad de Caldas, Colombia) and in the Master's degree in Cannabis Business Management (Instituto Amsterdam, Mexico).
I performed professional stays at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB-CSIC), Spain, and at the University of São Paulo, Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Brazil. I am also a member of the working group about psychedelics of the Societat Catalana de Psiquiatria i Salut Mental.
Since 2020 I have been a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Medicine of the URV in the ‘Health, Psychology, and Psychiatry’ program. I am the recipient of a Industrial Doctorate research grant from AGAUR (Catalan Government).
In 2024 I started to work as a Study coordinator in Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, Barcelona.
My Story
Both my academic and professional experience can be explained by an inner desire to understand the complex mechanisms underlying the effects of drugs and medicines.
The best discipline to start with in my search for knowledge seemed to be Psychology, but I soon realized that a multidisciplinary approach was necessary, so I extended my studies with my first Master's degree in the Faculty of Medicine at Rovira i Virgili University (URV), where I was trained in Neurotoxicology through research on animal models. I performed the curricular practices in the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital, in Barcelona, with the research group led by Dr. Jordi Riba. The project consisted of a Phase I trial involving the acute administration of salvinorin-A, an hallucinogenic compound of natural origin, using neuroimaging techniques. At the same time, I was convinced that social and cultural aspects were intrinsically linked to the use of drugs and medicines and, thus, I joined the Medical Anthropology Research Center (MARC) in the URV as an associate researcher.
Later on, interested in going deeper into pharmacological knowledge, I completed a Master's degree in Pharmacology in the Faculty of Medicine at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), where I was taught by renowned pharmacology experts. My studies included many lectures performed in the pharmacology units of various hospitals, including Sant Pau i Santa Creu, Vall d'Hebron, and Hospital del Mar, in Barcelona. During this master's, my curricular practices were again located in the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital, involving the development of a Phase I trial for an epigenetic drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.
Currently, I am working with the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, Barcelona, as a Study coordinator, in the non-governmental International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service (ICEERS). At these organizations, I developed my passion for independent scientific research, discovering the social, community-oriented value of making advances in science.
I am also completing my PhD thesis at the URV, where I am coordinating a Phase II trial involving the administration of ibogaine, a natural alkaloid with anti-addictive properties, to patients in methadone maintenance programs.
I have completed several other complementary trainings in different fields as well, such as university workshops in Good Clinical Practices, the analysis of public policies, COVID-19-related courses, clinical electrocardiography (EKG), Basic Life Support, or Systems thinking in public health, among others.
Additionally, given my interest in serving the community, I am a volunteer in the Civil Protection unit of Tarragona, Spain.
