Maria Elisa Serrano Navacerrada

Maria Elisa Serrano (Melisa) embarked on her academic journey in Madrid, Spain, completing a Licenciatura in Psychology in 2013 followed by an MSc in Clinical Neuroscience in 2014. During this time, she perfected her theoretical and technical neuroscience skills through internships in diverse laboratories (psychology, biology and medicine). In 2015, she pursued a PhD in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences with a specialization in neuroimaging techniques (PET, MRI, EEG) in Liège, Belgium. After successfully defending her PhD in 2019, she joined King's College London (KCL) as a Research Fellow at the BRAIN Centre and, in 2022, she started her career in education at the MSc in Neurosciences.
Melisa is passionate about developing and applying different neuroscience techniques to discover new treatments and biomarkers for neurological diseases, especially trying to understand the therapeutic role of astrocytes and the glymphatic system in neurodegenerative disorders. Recently, she has started exploring how our daily-life choices affect our brain, connecting psychology, biology and neuroscience through understanding the gut-brain axis, the effect of exercise and meditation on our brains and the neurobiology of burnout. Currently, she actively contributes to multiple research projects, supports different modules and students in the BSc and MSc in Neuroscience and Mental Health, and engages in various professional committees in the field of Neurosciences.