Dr Paula Perez Pardo studied Molecular Biology at the Autonoma University in Madrid and at the Free University in Berlin. During her PhD thesis at the Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, she studied the role of  microbiota-gut-brain interactions in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. She was appointed as an Assistant Professor in 2020 and she is now excited about the perspective of applying  innovative techniques and technologies to identify the mechanisms allowing gut bacteria/pathogens to trigger brain disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. At the same time, she is strongly committed to achieving measurable societal impact by identifying novel diagnostic biomarkers and biological targets for different disorders, and collaborating with companies, clinicians and patient organisations to ensure their successful implementation and use for patients.