Molecular neuroscientist looking into Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment (CRCI)

I am currently working in the Centre for Stress and Age-Related disease at the University of Brighton. My PhD project tackles a key question in brain research, i.e. how stress can induce cognitive dysfunction. More specifically, the project aims to identify the mechanisms underlying cancer-related cognitive impairment. Cognitive changes are common in cancer patients and survivors with non-central nervous system tumours. The changes have been predominantly blamed on chemotherapy-related toxicities. However, researchers and clinicians recently found that up to 40% of patients show a decreased cognitive performance prior to receiving any treatments. This suggests that other factors contribute to the cognitive impairment observed cancer patients. Therefore, this projects aims to identify the impact of diagnosis-associated psychological stress and tumour-associated factors on cognitive function.

I was awarded with a PhD studentship from the University of Brighton in 2016 after completing my MSc project in neuroregeneration following spinal cord injury at the University of Hasselt (Belguim) and a genetics-based Erasmus+ internship at La Paz University Hospital, Madrid (Spain)