Dr. Ariel F. Castro is a Full Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad de Concepción, Chile. He holds degrees in Biochemistry, Pharmacy, and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Texas Medical Branch and IUPUI (USA), where he began his research in signal transduction and cancer. He later served as an Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, before joining the Universidad de Concepción. His research centers on understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern cancer cell metabolism, particularly focusing on how malignant cells respond to metabolic and oxidative stress. The research seeks to uncover how these cells adapt their metabolic programs to maintain survival, proliferation, and invasiveness under the stress conditions. A central line of the current investigation explores the role of the NUAK1 kinase, a member of the AMPK-related kinase family, in regulating metabolic reprogramming, stress resistance, and cell viability. Research in his lab also includes a broader analysis of molecular pathways involved in cancer. These studies encompass the regulation of small GTPases, the mTOR/AMPK axis, and the influence of key transcription factors that shape tumor cell behavior, aiming to identify novel molecular vulnerabilities that may be exploited for therapeutic intervention.