I’m Macarena Tejos-Bravo (Santiago, Chile, 1990), a PhD student from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, one of the top Universities in Latin America. Currently, I’m finishing my PhD in Neurosciences working with my advisor, Dra. Margarita Calvo. My thesis is focused on assessing the effect of stress on the somatosensory system, specifically studying dermatological conditions characterized by chronic itch and pain. 

Before my PhD, I did my undergraduate and MSc in Biochemistry at Universidad de Chile (2009-2017), working on the impact of stress and the glucocorticoid receptor in the rodent hippocampus and during that time, I performed two research visits in the US. Due to my strong scientific background and my enthusiasm for translational neurosciences, I decided to assume the challenge of conducting a clinical study for my PhD. 

Nowadays, I’m doing short research visit (until April 2023) at the Neuronal Injury Group (University of Oxford) to conduct in vitro analyses and learn new techniques to implement in Chile. Part of my motivation as woman in STEM is to be involved in highly interdisciplinary projects and groups that allow me to combine basic and clinical science, contributing with understand the relation between stress, neuropathic itch and pain.