María José (MJ) is a Chilean researcher interested in how mitochondrial function shapes brain health and vulnerability. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Sciences in Santiago (2018) and joined the group of Dr. Michela Deleidi at the DZNE in Germany (2019) and later at Institut Imagine in France (2023), supported by competitive fellowships including Becas Chile, DAAD, and the EMBO Long-Term Fellowship.
During her postdoctoral work, MJ has investigated multiple genetic and pharmacological models of mitochondrial and neurodegenerative disease using human iPSC-derived systems. Her research combines 2D cultures, triculture systems, and 3D brain organoids with integrated microglia alongside multi-omics approaches such as single-cell transcriptomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics. Through these models, she studies how mitochondrial stress rewires cell metabolism and contributes to brain disease