Professor and researcher at the Department of Psychobiology (University of Valencia) since

1994 (6 quinquennia and 5 sexennia), full professor from 2017. As teacher, I have given degree and master courses, I have published two books and several chapters of book. I have also performed management activities in the University. As researcher, I am the leader of the Research Unit “Neurobehavioural mechanisms and endophenotypes of addictive behaviour”.

Our research is focus in behavioral and pharmacological experiments on animal models. We use a wide variety of learning, memory and brain disorders paradigms, especially animal models of addictive behavior. I have participated as active researcher in more than 28 research

projects financed by national and local institutions. I have supervised 4 doctoral thesis, 4

degree thesis, 3 research works and 16 final master works. Now, I am supervising one

doctoral thesis. I have performed research periods in other national and international

Universities and Research Centers and I have colaborated with prestigious researchers. I

have published 130 JCR papers and several book chapters related with my research.

My main scientific contributions to the psychobiology of drug addiction are: 1. To extend the

conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure to study the phenomenon of relapse to drug

use after extinction; 2. To demonstrate the role of several neurotransmitter systems in the

behavioral effects of different drugs of abuse (such as cocaine, alcohol, cannabinoids and

MDMA); 3. To verify the long-term effects of adolescent drug exposure and poly-drug

consumption; 4. To demonstrate the influence of individual (age, sex, novelty-seeking) and

environmental (social stress) variables on the vulnerability to the rewarding effects of

different drugs of abuse; 5. To demonstrate the protective effects of several environmental

manipulations on the response to drugs of abuse; 6. To clarify the mechanisms underlying

(neurotransmitter systems, neuroinflammation, epigenetic processes, etc.) to the influence of

environmental variables of risk and protection to the susceptibility to develop drug addiction

in animal models.

The mid-long term scientific-technic objectives of my research line are: 1. To study the

neurobehavioral mechanisms of resilience to the negative effects of social stress on the

response to drugs of abuse, 2. To identify behavioral and neurochemical biomarkers of

resilience or vulnerability to drug abuse, 3. To perform environmental and pharmacologic

manipulations that increased the resilience to the effects of social stress on the rewarding

properties of drugs of abuse; 4. To evaluate the underlying mechanism to the resilience

(neurotransmitter systems, neuroinflammation, epigenetics, microbiota, etc.) 5. To evaluate

the long-term behavioral consequences of several environmental manipulations on

adolescence (including diet exposure and drug consumption) and to puzzle out the

underlying mechanism of action. The inclusion and consideration of the variable sex is

essential in all of these projects. The achievement of these objectives will contribute without

any doubt to identify new therapeutic targets for the treatment of drug addiction and to the

development of strategies to prevent this disorder.

Irene Cano López, graduate in Psychology with the Extraordinary End-of-Degree Award (Universitat de València), Master’s Degree in Basic and Applied Neurosciences (Universitat de València), Master’s Degree in Clinical Neuropsychology (Universidad Pablo de Olavide), Clinical Neuropsychology Specialist (National Commission of Professional Accreditations), and PhD in Neurosciences with the Extraordinary Doctoral Award (Universitat de València). She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychobiology at the Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy (Universitat de València). She is a member of the research group Psychology of Stress and Cognitive and Affective Processes (NEUROPSICO), affiliated with the IDOCAL research institute. Her research focuses on the study of cognitive functioning, affectivity, and quality of life in patients with epilepsy, as well as on the effects of stress on cognition in different populations. Her contribution has resulted in the publication of several scientific articles in indexed journals, books, and book chapters, as well as in participation in numerous national and international conferences. She has carried out research stays at University College London and at the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS).

Dra Rosa Redolat is a professor of Psychobiology, currently attached to the Department of Psychobiology at the University of Valencia. Over the years, she has carried out continuous research, focusing particularly on the following lines of research: 1) Ethopharmacology of aggression, developed in collaboration with Dr Vicente Simón of the University of Valencia and Professor Paul Brain of Swansea University; 2) Effects of chronic stress; ageing and environmental enrichment, a line of research developed in animal models, which sought to demonstrate that environmental enrichment can counteract the effects of both social stress and those associated with cognitive decline linked to ageing; 3) Impact of stress on carers of cancer patients and patients with Alzheimer's disease; 4) Other funded research projects in which Dr Redolat participated (2 National R&D&I Plan Projects PSI2009-10410, PSI2016-78763-P, and 2 Prometeo Projects of the Generalitat Valenciana for groups of excellence) have focused on possible factors of vulnerability and resistance, as well as mechanisms of protection against stress and ageing in both animal models and human subjects.

She has also researched subjective adaptability in psychosocial environments and life-based gerontological innovation, which seeks to highlight the variables that can influence the adoption of technology in older adults. She is currently participating as a researcher in the ‘RevirBrain’ project funded by MCIN (PID2022-138021OA-I00)

 which aims to develop a technological platform for cognitive stimulation in older adults, also emphasising other protective factors against dementia. Since 2009, Dr Redolat has been directing the research unit on “Ageing and social stress: pharmacological and behavioural protection mechanisms” at the University of Valencia.

Noemí San Miguel Segura holds a degree in Psychology from the Universitat Jaume I and a PhD in Psychopathology, Health and Neuropsychology, recipient of the Doctoral Dissertation Award. She is currently an Lecturer in Psychobiology at the Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, Universitat de València. Her research is conducted within the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (LabNSC), and her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, as well as presented at national and international conferences. In the area of teaching, she coordinates the undergraduate course Fundamentals of Psychobiology, the Final Degree Projects in the Department of Psychobiology, and the course Updates and Advances in Biopsychosocial Approaches to Health and Disease in the Master’s Degree in General Health Psychology (Ontinyent Campus). She also serves as co-principal investigator on four teaching innovation projects funded by the SFPIE and is part of the consolidated teaching innovation group ITACA-PSICOBIO at the Universitat de València.

[Biography, english version]