I completed my studies at Université Paris 7, France, where I received my Bachelor’s degree in Biology-Biochemistry in 2001, followed by my Master’s (Ecole Normale Supérieure d’Ulm, Pasteur Institute) and my Ph.D. in Microbiology specializing in Basic Virology in 2003 and 2007, respectively. My thesis focused on cellular cofactors for HIV at the Institut Cochin. Subsequently, I underwent postdoctoral training on antiviral responses of NK cells at the University of California in San Francisco, USA.

Since 2012, I have been working at the Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies in Panama as a Senior Health Researcher. In 2020, I was appointed Head of the Department of Research in Virology and Biotechnology. During my time here, I have established the flow cytometry center, participated in molecular epidemiology studies on arboviruses and emerging viruses, and led projects on viral immunology and viral escape. I have also contributed to the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic and have been teaching postgraduate classes at the University of Panama since 2018.

My research has resulted in a patent and over 45 scientific publications (ORCID: 0000-0002-1106-8479). I have received several awards, such as the Gorgas Memorial Award (ASTMH, 2013) and the UNESCO-L’OREAL International Fellowship for Young Women in Science in 2014, which enabled me to work on arboviruses at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), USA (2015-2017). I was selected as a member of the National Research System (SNI, SENACYT) in 2014 and the Global Young Academy (GYA) in 2018. Additionally, I am part of the Pathogen Bulletin Working Group on Biosafety and Biocustody in Virology Research since 2022 and the WHO Togaviridae Working Group since 2023.