projects
🌀Ph.D. / MSCA project:
- Disc4All Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions 2020-ITN-ETN GA:955735 Training network to advance integrated computational simulations in translational medicine, applied to intervertebral disc degeneration. The Disc4All training network utilizes intervertebral disc degeneration (LDD) leading to low back pain (LBP) as a relevant application for integrating data and computational simulations in translational medicine to enable rational interpretations of the complexity of the interactions that eventually lead to symptoms. LBP is the most significant cause of morbidity worldwide, yet controversy remains about the specific cause leading to poor treatment options and prognosis. LDD accounts for 50% of LBP in young adults, but the interplay of factors from genetics, environmental, cellular responses, and social and psychological factors is poorly understood. Unfortunately, the integration of such data into a holistic and rational map of degenerative processes and risk factors has not been achieved, requiring the creation of professional cross competencies. Disc4All aims to tackle this issue through the collaborative expertise of clinicians; computational physicists and biologists; geneticists; computer scientists; cell and molecular biologists, microbiologists; bioinformaticians; and industrial partners. It provides interdisciplinary training in data curation and integration; experimental and theoretical/computational modeling; computer algorithm development; tool generation; and model and simulation platforms to transparently integrate primary data for enhanced clinical interpretations through models and simulations.
🌀Projects in which I have participated:
- CarboNatLab PIA-ANID ANILLO ACT 172037 Interacting structure and function of ecological, mechanical, and mineralogical properties of marine calcifiers: Shell carbonates as sources of bio-inspiration (Carbo-Nat-Lab). Mollusk shells are a biomaterial composed of a mineral phase (95-99%), predominantly calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and an organic biopolymer matrix (1-5%). In this biomineralization process, mollusks use specialized biomolecules to precipitate aragonite or calcite and crystalline control growth. Biomechanical analysis of this biomaterial suggests that although carbonates are constrained by the same physical laws as their artificial counterparts, they exhibit radical differences in their material properties. Implying that evolutionary design and environmental pressures have shaped the form and structure that characterize their biological functions. As environmental factors such as seawater chemistry (e.g., acidification) and temperature can modify the mineralogical composition, in this project, we evaluate the natural variation in carbonate production along the Chilean coast to determine how molluscan shells' mechanical and structural properties sustain their biological functions in the context of climatic stressors. This study will provide a solid scientific basis to strengthen the sustainability of aquaculture in Chile.
- Project FONDECYT 1170608f Biomechanical Behaviour of Arteries from Chronic Hypoxic Animals: Experiments, Modelling, Numerical Simulation, and Validation. The general goal of this project is to determine the modeling, numerical simulation, and experimental validation of the biomechanical responses of arterial vessels in a recently established rat paradigm representative of living under hypoxia. These will be related to the structural characteristics of the vessels. Three different rat vessels will be analyzed: aorta, carotid, and femoral, at different ages (neonates, juveniles, and adults) and oxygenation conditions (healthy normoxic and impaired hypoxic)
visiting research
| Period | Institution | Project / PI | Work | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 2024 - Mar. 2024 | Tampere University (TAU), Decision Support for Health (DSH), Tampere, Finland | Disc4All MSCA-2020-ITN-ETN GA: 955735 | PI: Mark van Gils | Linking NFBC data with mechano-transport simulations of the intervertebral disc, disc degeneration, and low back pain phenotypes using the Disease State Fingerprint. | recommendation letter |
| Nov. 2022 - Jan. 2023 | University of Oulu, Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology (HST), Oulu, Finland | Disc4All MSCA-2020-ITN-ETN GA: 955735 | PI: Simo Saarakkala | Clinical and psychological data extraction from the Northern Finland Birth Cohorts. |
conferences
🌎 international
- 52nd International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS 2026) | speaker presentation | May 2026
- The Westin Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa certificate
- 🎤 Intervertebral disc stratification according to metabolic risk, based on personalized morphological modelling and chemo-mechanical simulations.
- 20th International Symposium on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering (CMBBE 2025) | two speaker presentations | September 2025
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain certificate
- 🎤 Fully coupled multi-species mechano-transport simulations in the intervertebral disc.
- 🎤 Northern Finland Birth Cohort: intervertebral disc state fingerprint for degeneration and low back pain.
- 30th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2025) | speaker presentation | July 2025
- ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland certificate | student award top 3
- 🎤 Fully coupled multi-species mechano-transport simulations in the intervertebral disc.
- 33rd European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS 2025) | speaker & poster presentation | June 2025
- Congress Centre Davos, Davos, Switzerland certificate
- 🎤 Podium: Automated biomechanical simulations of high-resolution intervertebral discs from anisotropic MRIs.
- 🎴 Poster: Intervertebral Disc State Fingerprint to classify degeneration and low back pain in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966.
- 51st International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS 2025) | speaker presentation | May 2025
- Emory University, Atlanta, USA certificate
- 🎤 Intervertebral Disc State Fingerprint to classify degeneration and low back pain in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966.
- VPHi Conference (VPHi 2024) | speaker presentation | September 2024
- University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany certificate
- 🎤 Pixel2Mechanics: Automated biomechanical simulations of high-resolution intervertebral discs from anisotropic MRIs.
- 50th International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS 2024) | speaker presentation | May 2024
- Quark Hotel, Milano, Italy certificate
- 🎤 Unveiling the interactions between ivd local morphologies and mechanical behavior through a novel morphing process: A step towards personalized medicine.
- 31st European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS 2023) | speaker & poster presentation | September 2023
- University of Minho, Porto, Portugal certificate| poster
- 🎤 🎴 Mining of biomechanical and geometry data of IVD FE simulations.
- 28° Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2023) | speaker presentation | July 2023
- Maastricht Congress Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands certificate
- 🎤 A cohort of patient-specific and virtual finite element models of intervertebral discs and model validation.
- 18th International Symposium on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering (CMBBE 2023) | speaker presentation | May 2023
- Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology Institut de Biomécanique Humaine Georges Charpak, Paris, France certificate
- 🎤 A cohort of patient-specific and virtual finite element models of intervertebral discs.
- XI Capítulo Español: Sociedad Europea de Biomecánica (ESB-ESP 2022) | speaker presentation | October 2022
- Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain certificate
- 🎤 Generación de una cohorte de modelos de elementos finitos de discos intervertebrales específico de pacientes, con extensión a cohorte virtual.
- VPHi Conference (VPHi 2022) | poster presentation | September 2022
- Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal certificate | poster
- 🎴 Towards a repository of patient-specific intervertebral disc finite element models.
- 27° Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2022) | speaker presentation | June 2022
- Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal certificate | podium certificate
- 🎤 Towards a repository of patient-specific intervertebral disc finite element models
- 1st Taulí Health symposium - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | spectator | June 2022
- I3PT Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Parc Taulí (Fundació Parc Taulí), Catalunya, Spain certificate
- 6th Barcelona VPH Summer School (VPH SC 2022) | poster presentation | May 2022
- co-organized by BCN MedTech at the Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and by the Virtual Physiological Human Institute (VPHi), Spain poster | Best HandsOn Award
- 🎴 Towards a repository of patient-specific intervertebral disc finite element models.
- IX International Conference on Computational Bioengineering (ICCB 2022) | speaker presentation | April 2022
- Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal certificate
- 🎤 Towards a repository of patient-specific intervertebral disc finite element models.
- X Capítulo Español: Sociedad Europea de Biomecánica (ESB-ESP 2021) | speaker presentation | October 2021
- Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain certificate
- 🎤 Comportamiento biomecánico de las conchas de los mejillones: degradación durante la remodelación de las propiedades mecánicas y sistema de defensa.
- 11° World Biomaterials Congress (WBC 2020) | poster presentation | December 2020
- International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Virtual certificate | poster
- 🎤 Mechanical behavior symmetry of mussel shells and numerical method for biomaterial orthotropy directions.
- Congreso Internacional de Metalurgia y Materiales (CONAMET 2019) | speaker presentation | November 2019
- Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile certificate
- 🎤 Análisis de la respuesta biomecánica del Perumytilus purpuratus ante escenarios de cambio climático.
- 25° Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2019) | 2 speaker presentations | July 2019
- TU Wien, Vienna, Austria certificate
- 🎤 Biomechanical behaviour on shell characteristics (Perumytilus purpuratus) along the chilean coast.
- 🎤 Numerical analysis of the biomechanical response of oyster shells subjected to climate change scenarios.
🇨🇱 chilean
- XL Congreso de Ciencias del Mar | speaker presentation | May 2021
- La Sociedad Chilena de Ciencias del Mar (SCHCM), Virtual certificate
- 🎤 Comportamiento mecánico simétrico de la resistencia de las conchas del mejillón Perumytilus purpuratus.
- 2° Congreso de Estudiantes de Postgrado USACH (USACH 2020) | speaker presentation | November 2020
- Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Virtual certificate
- 🎤 Perumytilus purpuratus: simetría de valvas y caracterización de dirección ortótropa.
- Congreso Chileno de Biomecánica y Biomateriales (CBIO 2020) | speaker presentation & organizer | October 2020
- Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Virtual certificate
- 🎤 Perumytilus purpuratus: simetría de valvas y caracterización de dirección ortótropa.
🎥 recording
- 1° Congreso de Estudiantes de Postgrado USACH (USACH 2019) | speaker presentation | August 2019
- Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile certificate
- 🎤 Modelos constitutivos de crecimiento aplicados a la concha del Perumytilus purpuratus.
awards
| Date | Award | Institution / Event | Detail | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul. 2025 | Student Award - Top 3 | 30th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2025), ETH Zürich | Presentation: fully coupled multi-species mechano-transport simulations in the intervertebral disc. | certificate |
| Jun. 2025 | Best HandsOn | 8th Barcelona VPH Summer School (VPH SC 2025), Universitat Pompeu Fabra | Patient-specific intervertebral disc modeling for fully coupled multi-species mechano-transport simulations from clinical MRI. | certificate |
| Mar. 2025 | Top Cited Article | JOR Spine - Wiley, Orthopaedic Research Society | Top 10 most-cited papers published in 2023: Cartilaginous endplates: a comprehensive review on a neglected structure in intervertebral disc research. | certificate |
| May 2022 | Best HandsOn | 6th Barcelona VPH Summer School (VPH SC 2022), Universitat Pompeu Fabra | Surrogate modeling of IVD simulation under physiological sports loading conditions. | certificate |
| Oct. 2021 - May 2026 | Full Ph.D. Scholarship | European Union / Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions at Universitat Pompeu Fabra | Early Stage Researcher, Disc4All ITN Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. | |
| Oct. 2018 - 2020 | Full Master Scholarship | Government of Chile / University of Santiago de Chile | BECA ARANCEL. | certificate |
| Oct. 2013 - 2021 | Full Undergraduate Scholarship | Government of Chile / University of Santiago de Chile | BECA BICENTENARIO. | certificate |
courses
| Date | Course | Role | Detail | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun. 2025 | 8th Barcelona VPH Summer School (VPH SC 2025), Universitat Pompeu Fabra | Teacher | Patient-specific intervertebral disc modeling for fully coupled multi-species mechano-transport simulations from clinical MRI. | certificate |
| Mar. 2024 | The Human Digital Twin Summer School Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra | Teacher | HandsOn: patient-specific intervertebral disc modelling for biological stratification with clinical data. | |
| May 2023 | 7th Barcelona VPH Summer School (VPH SC 2023), Universitat Pompeu Fabra | Poster | Towards a repository of patient-specific intervertebral discs finite element models. | poster |
| May 2022 | 6th Barcelona VPH Summer School (VPH SC 2022), Universitat Pompeu Fabra | Teacher & Poster | HandsOn: surrogate modeling of IVD simulation under physiological sports loading conditions. | poster | certificate |
| Jun. 2021 | 5th Barcelona VPH Summer School: Stratification of patients with complex phenotypes | Student | Transversal training of in silico medicine. | certificate |
| Nov. 2018 | Structure, form, and function of calcifying organisms | Student | Postgraduate course at CIMARQ UNAB, Valparaíso, Chile. | certificate |
memberships
| Period | Organization | Location | Detail | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep. 2022 - Present | Virtual Physiological Human Institute (VPHi) | Europe | Membership ID: 2026-mp-txn-6a27f2390e0e0. | certificate |
| Jul. 2020 - Present | European Society of Biomechanics (ESB) | Europe | Membership ID: 3263. | certificate |
| Jun. 2026 - Present | Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) | Europe | Membership ID: 0242301. | certificate |
| Oct. 2019 - Sep. 2021 | STEM Preschool Program USACH-DIMEC | Santiago, Chile | Scientific popularization for preschool children with a gender perspective. | certificate |
professional service
| Role | Journal | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Journal reviewer | Clinical Biomechanics (JCLB) | certificate |
| Journal reviewer | Journal of Orthopaedic Research - Spine (JOR Spine) |
science popularization
Science for children
videos made by me and Katherine Contreras
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- 🎞 density 🎞 surface stress 🎞 non-newtonian fluids
video on a blank page video on a blank page video on a blank page
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Science Festival | Festival de la Ciencia (FECI of PAR Explora Región Metropolitana Sur
Poniente, ANID) | expert scientific collaborator | November 2020
- Universidad de Chile, Virtual | english certificate | spanish certificate
- STEM DIMEC-USACH | science experiments for children |
| news link 1 | news link 2
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Science Festival | 10° Feria Científica USACH | expert scientific collaborator | October 2019
- Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile | spanish certificate
- Biomechanics and Biomaterials Laboratory | exhibition of biomechanical tests for children | news link 1 | news link 2
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Exhibition | Mollusca, espiral del cambio - CarboNatLab project | expert scientific collaborator | CiiCC
- Museo de Historia Natural de Valparaíso (MHNV), Valparaíso, Chile | english certificate
- CarboNatLab | exhibition of the consequences of climate change in the oceans | news link 1 | news link 2
| October 2019
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Exhibition | XII Fiesta de la ciencia y la tecnología (PAR Explora Región Metropolitana Sur
Oriente, ANID) | CiiCC
- PARQUEMET, Santiago, Chile | english
certificate
- CarboNatLab | exhibition of mechanical properties of mollusk shells subject to climate change scenarios | news link
| expert scientific collaborator | October 2018
