María José Martínez Bravo

Hello! I am María José Martínez Bravo. I was born in Seville, Spain, and I always saw myself helping in the recovery process of patients or at least making them feel much better, which is why I studied Pharmacy in my hometown. Later on, I decided to start my Ph.D. at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville to be at the forefront of the latest scientific advancements. After obtaining my degree, I wanted to experience what it is like to work in more international laboratories, so I decided to accept a two-year postdoctoral offer at the Karolinska Institute, where I had my first experience working in another language. It was an extremely enriching experience, where I learned and enjoyed being surrounded by other cultures and incredible researchers. However, I thought that coming to London could be even more interesting both professionally and personally, so I joined King’s College London as an associate researcher, where I gave my first lecture to Dentistry students. That experience was very successful, and I decided that I wanted to spread scientific knowledge among students. That’s why I accepted a position at University College London as an Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy, where everything began but with a different location, a little over 10 years ago. I have the opportunity to convey my passion for Immunology to students who remind me a lot of the person I once was. In addition to that, I volunteer for the Native Scientist program to introduce science to children under 12 years old in their own mother tongue.