Patricia is a physician-scientist with a profound interest in studying and understanding the interaction of the human immune system with microorganisms in homeostatic and disease conditions.

For her MD degree thesis, Patricia started performing research using animal models of neurocysticercosis, an endemic disease in her home country of Peru. Later, she worked as a clinical trial physician in neurocysticercosis studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US. This was a rewarding experience for her, putting state-of-the-art, evidence-based diagnostic and treatment at the service of populations with very limited economic resources. Since then, research has become Patricia’s passion.

During her master’s degree in public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, still-unanswered questions related to malaria immunology attracted her deeply, especially in the field of mucosal immunology and T cell-independent responses. Patricia participated in coordinating microscopic diagnosis and as a clinical study physician in controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) studies at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in an international consortium effort.

Following that, she pursued a PhD degree, performing immunology laboratory investigations using techniques such as Luminex assays and flow cytometry. Next, she joined a non-profit in the Netherlands, the PharmAccess Foundation, which aims to increase access to quality healthcare in Africa and develop innovative healthcare solutions. Patricia worked here while completing her PhD research at the University of Barcelona and defended the resulting thesis successfully in February 2026.

“My goal is to contribute to expanding our knowledge about the immune response to malaria and other tropical infectious diseases, to produce vaccines with improved efficacy, and to reduce the burden of these diseases in the most affected populations worldwide,” Patricia says. “In addition, I have a passion for teaching, and I hope to contribute to inspiring the new generation of scientists in these areas of research.”