Fernanda is a doctoral student in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience in the Leal Neuroscience of Memory, Mood, & Aging Lab. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico City) in 2017, her M.S. in Clinical Neuroscience from University College London in 2019, and her M.A. in Psychological Sciences at Rice in 2023. She previously worked under the supervision of Dr. Robert Wykes (Queen Square Institute of Neurology), where she studied gene-therapy approaches to drug-refractory forms of epilepsy. Prior to coming to Rice, she worked as a data analyst in clinical trials. Fernanda is interested in the neurobiological underpinnings of episodic memory and its changes across development. She is currently investigating cultural and genetic risk factors of Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias in Latino populations. Fernanda’s work is supported by a Fulbright García Robles grant, an APAGS Psychological Science Research Grant (PSRG), a Social Sciences Research Institute’s (SSRI) Pre-Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (PDR), and copious amounts of coffee. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and watching movies.
Research Areas
Episodic memory; long-term memory; neuroimaging; ADRD; culture.
Societies & Organizations
Association for Psychological Science, 2023 - present
National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, 2023 - present
American Psychological Association, 2022 - present
Cognitive Science Society, 2020 – present
Society for Neuroscience, 2018 – present
Honors & Awards
Building Research on Inequality and Diversity to Grow Equity (BRIDGE) Seed Grant, 2023
Diversity Grant of the Psychological Science Research Grant (APAGS), 2023
Rice University School of Social Sciences Research Institute Pre-Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, 2022
Fulbright COMEXUS García-Robles graduate fellowship, 2021 - 2024
Rice University Center for Teaching Excellence Graduate Fellowship, 2023
First place poster presentation, UTHealth 28th Annual Neuroscience Poster Session, 2022
Trainee Professional Development Award, Society for Neuroscience, 2022
Consejo Mexiquense de Ciencia y Tecnología (COMECYT) scholarship, 2019
Santander Master's Scholarship, 2018 – 2019
University College London-Banco de México FIDERH Scholarship, 2018 - 2019
CENEVAL award for outstanding performance in the national graduation exam in Psychology, 2017
Saint Ignatius of Loyola Medal for academic excellence, 2017
Honorific Mention in Psychology for Exceptional Academic Performance (top 3% upon graduation), 2017
The Anglo Mexican Foundation Scholarship for the formation and development of English teachers, 2016
NIH Travel Fellowship, Int. Conference on Learning & Memory (LEARNMEM), 2023
Rice University Social Sciences Research Institute’s Graduate Student Conference Travel Grant, 2022
Trainee Professional Development Award, Society for Neuroscience, 2022
CTE Graduate Fellow
CTE Senior Teaching Fellow