Cecilia Bouzat
Cecilia Bouzat is an Argentine biochemist, who studies neurological disorders. In 2014 she was honored as the Latin American Laureate by the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.
Early life and education
Cecilia Bouzat was born on 10 December 1961, in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. As a daughter and granddaughter of doctors, she was the third of six children and became interested in science early on in her education.It was in Bouzat's second or third year of college that she believed she wanted to root her career in the sciences. She received a degree and PhD in Biochemical Sciences at the Universidad Nacional del Sur of Bahía Blanca in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Following the completion of her advanced degrees, Bouzat completed a postdoctorate study in the United States of America at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1994.
Research focus
Bouzat's research has been focused on the nervous system and how the brain and muscle cells communicate. Her first studies revolved around how Cys-loop receptors are involved in the synapses and enable rapid communications between the neurons and how drugs and compounds may modify the operation of the membrane proteins specific to the nervous system.Alterations to neuronal nicotinic receptors are associated with neurological disorders.