Professor Patricia C. Salinas

Patrícia Salinas is a professor at UCL’s Biosciences Division in the UK. After doing her University Master degree in Biochemistry in Argentina, her home country, she obtained her PhD degree from the Oregon Health Science University in the USA.

Professor Salinas and her team study the molecular and cellular mechanisms that control the formation of and changes in neuronal connections in the mammalian brain. Based on her research, she discovered a new function for specific signaling molecules that promote the formation and strength of neuronal connections. Her team also discovered that these signals are compromised in the brain of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, resulting in cognitive function defects including memory loss .

Patrícia took an interest in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. She recently found that enhancement of these signals restores memory in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. This opens the doors for developing new strategies to ameliorate memory loss in this devastating condition.

Patricia has been a member of several grant panels in the UK and in Europe. She has been a member of the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Alzheimer’s Research UK Grant Review Board. More recently, she has been appointed as a member of the French National Research Agency (ANR) grant panel for Neuroscience and the European Research Council (ERC) .

One of her most relevant publications on Equity in STEM was the article titled “Gender equality from a European perspective: myth and reality” in Neuron, an influential scientific journal, where she and her co-author assessed data regarding gender bias in several European countries.

Patricia says that, since childhood, boys and girls are treated differently by their parents and educators and as a consequence have different experiences. Overall, boys are encouraged to take risks and are praised for being excessively confident, whereas girls are encouraged to be modest and quiet, and are criticized for acting “like boys.” Consistently, many studies show that women are less likely to be as confident as men. Patricia believes this difference is partially due to environmental factors that shape young men and women, resulting in clear differences in approach and interests. This may contribute to fewer women seeking challenging careers in STEM and being less likely to take risks. For Patricia, “gender equality in the workforce increases productivity and innovation. For this purpose, we must promote gender equality from the start, educating parents on their bias, teachers, managers, leaders and politicians,” she explains.