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María Rodriguez Aburto

Biography

Dr María Rodriguez Aburto was born in Madrid, Spain, where she studied biology in the Autonomous University of Madrid.

She obtained a PhD in inner ear development and neurogenesis in the Neurobiology of Hearing lab at the Biomedical Research Institute, Madrid. Dr Rodriguez Aburto studied the role of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF1) in inner ear neuronal survival and differentiation, as well as the importance of cellular autophagy in driving inner ear neurogenesis.

Dr Rodriguez Aburto then undertook a Post doctoral position in the Neuro and Vascular Guidance Group at The Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences in Frankfurt, Germany. Her research focused on exploring the role of Reelin in neurovascular communication in the developing brain.

María obtained a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship to join Professor John Cryan’s group at UCC/APC Microbiome Ireland to study the role of early-life gut microbiota in the development of the blood-brain barrier and its impact in neurodevelopment.

Currently, María is a lecturer and Principal Investigator at University College Cork, working in the Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience and as faculty in APC Microbiome Ireland.

 

Research Interests

Dr Rodriguez Aburto’s  research interests focuses on the role of perinatal gut microbiota (pregnancy and early-life) in barrier function across the gut-brain axis. Her work explores how these barriers act as interfaces of communication with the developing brain and modulate neurodevelopment in health and disease.