Beatriz Cruz Luzon Email & Phone Number

• Assisting with a range of teaching activities, including tutorials, seminars and lecturesin the course “Pharmacology: from Physiology to Therapy”• Contributing to developing and updating teaching materials within the topics ofNeuroanatomy, Alzheimer´s Disease and Depression• Participating in the assessment of projects within the topics of Drug Dependence, Insomnia, Glia-Neuronal Interactions, Psychosis, and Depression and Psychedelics, as well as providing feedback to students

Involved in the following projects:• Gut-to-Brain: the link between microbiome, inflammation and depressionCarried out behavioral tests to measure the effect of gut microbiota on depressive-like behaviors in FMT mice.• The use of Adeno-Associated Viruses to transduce microgliaUsed viral tracing techniques to assess microglia transduction: stereotactic surgery, cryosectioning, immunohistochemistry, RNAScope, confocal microscopy, image analysis. • Lateral Septum: a key regulator of moodInjection of AAVs and bilateral optrode implantation for optogenetic stimulation of enkephalinergic neurons projecting from the Lateral Septum to the Nucleus Accumbens.

The use of Adeno-Associated Viruses to transduce microglia in mice.• The goal of my thesis was to target microglia specifically with the use of cre-dependent AAV-9 to express a DREADDs receptor together with a fluorescent reporter in CX3CR1-Cre mice. • The idea was to activate or inhibit microglia specifically by using DREADDs and study the effects of neuroinflammation in behavior. However, through validation work (IHC, RNAScope, confocal microscopy and image analysis), we found that our method was not selective towards microglia. • My thesis highlights the current challenges in microglia research: unspecific Cre lines, leaky vectors and AAV tropism, which result in neuron transduction.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Neuroscience

Microdegree, Philosophy Of Science

Logic, History and Philosophy of Science. Learning about the foundations of science, its methods and implications for society. Exploring.

Master Of Science - Msc, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Thesis: Can AAVs transduce microglia in mice? The use of Adeno-Associated Viruses for transgene delivery. Grade: 12/12. Courses.

Bachelor Of Science - Bsc, Biochemistry

Thesis: Quantitative analysis of cannabinoids in Cannabis sativa using HPLC. Grade: 9,8/10 General: Physics / Mathematics / Statistics /.