Pamela González, PhD student at UC, selected for prestigious neuroimaging program at the University of Oxford

Pamela González, a PhD student in the Medical Sciences program at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a member of iHEALTH, has been selected for OxCIN Global Scholars, a remote academic affiliation program at the University of Oxford aimed at early-career researchers from the Global South working in the field of neuroimaging.

Pamela is currently working on her doctoral thesis, titled "Neurobiological Characteristics of Magnetic Resonance-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Subthalamotomy and Pallidotomy in Parkinson's Disease", supervised by Dr. Marcelo Andia, professor at the UC School of Medicine and deputy director of iHEALTH, who also supported her application to the program offered by the British university.

The OxCIN Global Scholars program seeks to strengthen links between the Oxford University Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (OxCIN) and the neuroimaging research community in Global South countries. Each year, between two and five international applicants are selected to continue their projects from their home institutions while participating for one year in advanced training, mentorship, and collaboration activities with Oxford researchers.

Opportunities offered by the program include:

• Free access to the MRI Graduate Programme, with training in physics and brain image analysis.
• Personalized mentorship by an Oxford researcher with similar interests.
• Participation in workshops, courses, and professional development activities.
• Presentation of research progress at the Global Scholars Symposium.

For Pamela, this opportunity represents a key boost to her scientific career:

“I receive this award with great enthusiasm. It is a very valuable opportunity to continue learning, strengthen my work as a researcher, and connect with highly experienced specialists in neuroimaging. I am also excited about learning directly from those who have developed some of the techniques I use in my research. This program will help me enhance my technical skills, expand collaboration networks, and apply what I learn at Oxford to develop solutions tailored to our population,” she said.

During the program, which will begin on October 1, 2025, Pamela will take part in specialized training in magnetic resonance imaging and advanced brain image analysis, as well as in seminars, workshops, and international collaboration activities.

“It will also allow me to strengthen my knowledge to teach other professionals, thus multiplying the impact of this experience,” she added.

With this selection, Pamela González joins an international network of researchers working at the forefront of neuroimaging, contributing from Chile to the development of new solutions and techniques for studying the brain.