Patricia Sanchez-Alonso was born in Puebla, Mexico, where she was educated until her bachelor’s degree. Her master’s in sciences and doctorate degrees were obtained at the Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN in México. Currently, Patricia works in the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, where she has developed herself in investigating the telomeres of Ustilago maydis and supporting the research on avian pathogens. U. maydis is the fungus that produces the corn-smut disease, which has been an excellent model for studying recombination and pathogenicity. Her general study aims to discern between the similarities and differences in telomere metabolism of metazoan and unicellular organisms, and U. maydis is a reasonably docile model system and appropriate because it undergoes a morphological transition between states of yeast (sporidia) and hypha (within the tumor it causes) during its development. That development is also concomitant with a lifestyle change from saprophyte to pathogen. We are currently studying the impact of deleting the two central components of telomerase (protein and RNA), the enzyme responsible for synthesizing and maintaining DNA homeostasis at the chromosomal ends, using interrupted mutants in the genes that encode them. Additionally, she is analyzing the role of some chromatin-modifying enzymes to understand the associated epigenetic changes in survivors arising when telomerase fail.