Dr. Sandra Jurado’s scientific background reveals her longstanding interest in cognition and learning. During her PhD with Dr. Magdalena Torres (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), she studied how glutamate NMDA receptors regulate gene expression. Her first doctoral position was with Dr. Jose Esteban (University of Michigan), where she looked at the function of the tumour suppressor protein PTEN in regulating hippocampal LTD. After that, she worked with Dr. Robert Malenka and collaborated with Dr. Thomas Südhof (Stanford University) to investigate the postsynaptic SNARE/SM protein machinery that mediates glutamate AMPA receptor insertion during LTP. In 2013, she joined the University of Maryland’s Department of Pharmacology as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor.

Now, Dr. Jurado is a group leader at the Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante (CSIC-UMH) in Spain, where she studies the molecular apparatus that underlies information processing and storage in the brain. Her group seeks to elucidate the molecules involved in synaptic transmission and plasticity with a particular focus on understanding how these processes are regulated by neuromodulators such as oxytocin. To achieve these goals, the lab uses a multidisciplinary approach combining molecular manipulations, electrophysiological recordings, and novel imaging techniques.