Area of interest: Sensory systems
Place & date of birth: Mexico City, Mexico
Nationality: Mexican
Education: Neurobiology MA (2013), Psychology BA (2011)
Contact: raul@lafuentelab.org
Studies:
2014-2018 PhD in Biomedical Sciences. Institute of Neurobiology, UNAM. With Honors
2011-2013 MSc in Neurobiology. Institute of Neurobiology, UNAM. With Honors
2006-2011 BA in Psychology. UNAM.
Representations of the visual world in the dog brain
Comparative brain imaging of face- and species-sensitivity in humans and dogs
Languages skills: Spanish and English
Degree:
PhD in Biomedical Sciences. Institute of Neurobiology, UNAM.
Professional experience and positions:
2018 – 2019 Research fellow MTA-ELTE Lendület Neuroetológiai Kutatócsoport
Main project: Representations of the visual world in the dog brain
Ethology department at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary.
Supervisor: Attila Andics
2014 – 2018 Graduate Researcher (PhD) Institute of Neurobiology, UNAM
Main project: Tactile object categories can be decoded from the parietal and lateral-occipital
cortices. Department of Neurobiology of Development and Neurophysiology.
Supervisor: Víctor Hugo de Lafuente Flores
2011 – 2013 Graduate Researcher (MSc) Institute of Neurobiology, UNAM
Project: Determination of the orientation of an object through the somatosensory system.
Department of Neurobiology of Development and Neurophysiology.
Supervisor: Víctor Hugo de Lafuente Flores
2008 – 2011 Undergraduate Fellow Psychology Faculty, UNAM
Experimental Psychology. Collaborated in the Laboratory of Learning and Memory
Supervisor: Javier Nieto.
Teaching experience:
- MultiVariate Pattern Analysis in Python. Course in Institute of Neurobiology of National Autonomous University of Mexico. September – October, 2017.
- fMRI in Cognitive Neurosciences. Intersession course in Faculty of Psychology of National Autonomous University of Mexico. January, 2016.
- Social cognition in dogs and humans. Intersession course in Faculty of Psychology ofNational Autonomous University of Mexico. January, 2015.
- fMRI in Cognitive Neurosciences. Intersession course in Faculty of Psychology of National Autonomous University of Mexico. January, 2015.
- Matlab to Neuroscientist. As part of the course “Latin American Training Program” from Society for Neuroscience. Institute of Neurobiology. November, 2014.
Domestic and foreign scholarships:
- Postdoctoral stay abroad by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT)
- Second Postdoctoral stay abroad by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT)
- National program of quality postgraduate for PhD studies by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT)
- National program of quality postgraduate for MSc studies by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT)
Professional awards and recognition:
- PhD graduate with Honors. Institute of Neurobiology, UNAM.
- MSc graduate with Honors. Institute of Neurobiology, UNAM.
- Merit Abstract Travel Stipend for the Organization for Human Brain Mapping Annual Meeting. 2016.
5 most significant publications (within 5 years):
Cuaya, L. V., Hernández-Pérez, R., & Concha, L. (2016). Our faces in the dog’s brain: functional imaging reveals temporal cortex activation during perception of human faces. PloS one, 11(3), e0149431. *Top 1% most downloaded Plos One research articles published in 2016.
Cuaya, Laura V. &Hernández-Pérez, R. Correlatos cerebrales del reconocimiento de caras humanas en perros. Gutiérrez Lombardo, R, Martínez Contreras, J. & Ponce de León, A. (Cord), Cultura y Evolución, pp. 179-190. Centro de Estudios Filosócos, Políticos y Sociales Vicente Lombardo Toledano. 2016.