Cecilia Arriagada has obtained her undergraduate degree in Bioengineering and a Masters degree in Biochemistry and Bioinformatics from the University of Concepcion, Chile. During her career, she has been interested in understanding the cellular and molecular processes involved in cell migration and cell polarity in cancer and developmental biology. Cecilia worked in Marcela Torrejon’s Lab, investigating mechanisms involved in cell polarity in Xenopus Tropicalis. This was her first incursion in research and developmental biology.
In 2017, Cecilia got her Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology from the University Austral of Chile. She did her thesis in Gonzalo Mardones’ Lab, defining the role of the Golgi protein GOLPH3 in the tumorigenic phenotype and its role in EGFR glycosylation, trafficking, and signaling pathways in Glioblastoma multiforme.
Cecilia is currently working to elucidate the role of mesodermal Fn1 in Second Heart Field (SHF) cell migration and cardiac outflow tract (OFT) elongation. Outside of the lab, she enjoys science fiction tv shows and books, listen to music, and singing.