Rocio Leal-Campanario

I obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Seville, Spain, in 2002, followed by a Master's in Neuroscience from the Pablo de Olavide University in 2003. Subsequently, they pursued a Ph.D. at the same university, completing it in December 2007 with a thesis on "Cortical mechanisms underlying associative learning," earning the highest grade ("sobresaliente cum laude"). During this period, I conducted electrophysiology studies in rabbits engaged in associative learning tasks, resulting in four published research papers and a couple of patents in indexed journals.

In August 2008, Iembarked on a post-doctoral stage, securing a competitive post-doctoral scholarship from the Spanish Government of Research. They joined the Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, USA, led by Stephen L. Macknik. This phase involved in-vivo fiber-optic confocal imaging studies in epileptic mice, marking a transition from large animals like rabbits to mice and a shift in research techniques.

Despite the challenging nature of spending four months each time in the USA, I continued teaching in Spain and explored new experimental techniques, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in behaving rabbits through a European research grant. However, this period was less productive, with a scientific pause lasting four years until 2012.

In 2012, I received the first grant as a principal investigator from the Andalusian government, leading to research in neuroendocrinology in behaving rats, involving behavioral tests, electrophysiology (LTP), and immunohistochemistry. They published a high-quality paper in Acta Physiol. in 2018, receiving editorial recognition.

Two maternity leaves in 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 interrupted my research. Despite this, I continued working with behaving rabbits, focusing on classical electrophysiology recordings to study learning and memory. Currently, I have authored more than 15 works in indexed journals, two book chapters, over 50 contributions to international conferences, and is a coauthor on two patents. The teaching experience spans almost two decades, and I have been involved in various research projects, including European initiatives, proving expertise in in-vivo electrophysiology, behavioral animal tests, in-vivo laser confocal fluorescence imaging, neuroendocrinology, and immunohistochemistry. h-index:13. I have served as the coordinator for the MSc in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and have been leading the Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience since 2016.