Patricia Escobar is a Colombian professor of Parasitology and Cell Biology at the Industrial University of Santander, Colombia, interested in the research into new approaches to control cutaneous leishmaniasis, specially due to the Leishmania Viannia species. Her PhD studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine focused on the immunomodulatory effect of some drugs on intracellular parasite such as Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi. Her post-doc at the Brasilia University of Brazil was oriented to the design, formulation and optimization of nano-carriers for dermal and transdermal drug delivery; then, together with her PhD student, Heider Carreño, she patented a topical pharmaceutical formulation for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.