I obtained a BSc (Hons) in Biology in 2007 from the Universidad de Carabobo (Venezuela), under the supervision of Dr. Pimali Felibertt, where I developed a passion for cell biology and parasitology. Following this, in 2008 I undertook Master’s studies at the Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain) under the supervision of Dr. Julian Pardo to gain additional training and cellular immunology and infection biology. For this project, I focussed on characterising the immune response against the newly identified emergent zoonotic pathogen Brucella microti in its natural host. After a 2-year hiatus working in several non-scientific positions in Spain, in 2012, I moved to Edinburgh where I worked first as a Research Assistant and then as a PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh in the laboratory of Amy H. Buck, focussing on the pathology caused by filarial nematodes. Since 2017, I changed gears and focussed on expanding my knowledge on the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, causative agent of sleeping sickness in humans. My postdoctoral training in the laboratories of Professor Mark C. Field (University of Dundee) and Professor Annette MacLeod (University of Glasgow) gave me a wide range of tools that I currently apply in my research, from molecular biology and genetic manipulation of parasites to host immune response to infection. I obtained a Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Wellcome fellowship in 2021 to start building my own independent group and was recruited to the University of Manchester in 2023 to continue my work at the intersection of parasitology, neuroimmunology, and behaviour as an independent research fellow.