Dra. Luisa Duarte

Young Investigator, Universidad del Desarrollo.

Dr. Luisa Duarte is a Bacteriologist and Clinical Laboratorist from the Universidad Industrial de Santander in Colombia and a Doctor in Biological Sciences with a Major in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. During his doctoral training, his thesis project was focused on evaluating the impact of asymptomatic herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection on multiple sclerosis (MS) disease in a mouse model. During this time, she collaborated on several research projects to identify host factors that modulate HSV replication cycles. She performed an experimental internship at the Freie Universität of Berlin in Germany, focused on detecting viral genomes in neuronal tissues through fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

After finishing her Ph.D, she joined the immunogenicity team of the Phase III clinical study of the CoronaVac® vaccine in Chile as a postdoctoral researcher. Since then, she has collaborated in additional scientific-clinical studies regarding vaccine evaluation against respiratory pathogens. In parallel, she was also awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo (ANID) of Chile at the Universidad Andres Bello, which was focused on evaluating the role of HSV infection on the premature induction of cellular senescence. During her scientific career, she has made significant contributions to  ​infectious and neurodegenerative diseases research, which have translated into more than 25 publications in high-impact journals and presentations at national and international conferences, where she has earned recognition for her participation.

Currently, Dr. Luisa Duarte is a research professor at the Center for Regenerative Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine at the Universidad del Desarrollo. Her line of research focuses on elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in developing or exacerbating neurodegenerative diseases due to viral infections and developing and evaluating new therapies to prevent, treat, or cure infectious and neurodegenerative diseases.