Dr. Alvaro Barrera-Ocampo is a pharmaceutical chemist with a Master's degree in Basic Biomedical Sciences (emphasis in Neurosciences) from Universidad de Antioquia (2004). He obtained his Ph.D from the University of Hamburg (Germany), where he worked on the characterization of proteins necessary for the formation of amyloid-beta peptides and the altered phosphorylation of tau in familial Alzheimer’s disease. During his Ph.D, he also developed important work on the expression of proteins related to the production of amyloid-beta peptides in cell cultures and human tissue samples. In 2013, professor Barrera-Ocampo started his postdoctoral training at RIKEN Brain Science Institute (Japan) analyzing the distribution of synaptic proteins in rat hippocampal neurons subjected to electrical stimulation. In 2014, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Universidad de Antioquia where he focused on the analysis of the lipid profile of a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease and the study of lipid species in brain tissue from Alzheimer’s disease patients. In 2015, he joined the Center for Science and Pharmaceutical Research (CECIF) as a Technical/Scientific Director where he coordinated projects related to drug development and clinical trials. Currently, he is a full-time professor of pharmacology at the department of pharmaceutical sciences of the School of Natural Sciences and is the director of the animal facility at Universidad Icesi.
Dr. Natalie Cortes is a Professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of Universidad de Ibagué. She received from the University of Antioquia a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry (2009), a master’s degree in Pharmaceutical and Food Sciences (2014), and a doctorate in Pharmaceutical and Food Sciences (2018). Her research lines are the analytical evaluation of medicinal plants, modulation of enzymatic systems, and cellular and molecular targets of biological interest.
Dr. Edison H. Osorio is a Researcher at the Grupo de Investigación en Química Bioorgánica y Sistemas Moleculares (QBOSMO), Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Universidad de Ibagué in Ibagué, Colombia. His skills and expertise include Quantum Chemistry, Thermoluminescence, Computational Chemistry, Electronic Structure, Atoms, Structural Stability, and Density Functional Theory.
Dr. Maria F. Villegas-Torres is an Assistant Professor at the Centro de Investigaciones Microbiológicas (CIMIC), Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes. She earned a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from the University College London and a master’s degree in Biological Sciences from the Universidad de los Andes.
Dr. Andres F. González-Barrios has been a Director and Associate Professor of the Department of Chemical and Food Engineering of the University of the Andes since 2011, Senior Researcher (IS) and linked to the Product and Process Design Group (GDPP) Category A1. He focuses on systems biology, specifically the design of products and process improvement in the industry using the strategy of metabolism modeling, proteins, and protein engineering.
