I am a Biochemist, with a Master's in Biochemistry and a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Chile. Under the mentorship of Dr. Sergio Álvarez and Dr. Carlos Santiviago in the Laboratorio de Microbiología, I studied how the lipid A hydroxylation catalyzed by LpxO enzyme contributes to the interaction of Salmonella Enteritidis with murine macrophages in vitro and its virulence in mice. Later during my doctoral studies under the mentorship of Dr. Santiviago at the University of Chile, I worked to determine if T3SSs effectors GtgE and SopD2 of Salmonella Typhimurium play a role in its virulence in the model amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum as previously characterized for mammalian hosts.