Profile: Seratna Guadarrama Beltran, PhD

Biography

Born and raised in the Estado de México (México), Dr. Seratna Guadarrama-Beltran is a proud first-generation graduate whose non-traditional upbringing, endless curiosity, and adventuring spirit drove her to study microbes in different parts of the world - and beyond.

Dr. Guadarrama-Beltran received her microbiology doctorate degree from the University of Dublin, Trinity College (Ireland). She is not only a microbiologist who became a science communicator at heart, but also one who enjoys studying and teaching about microbes during disease processes and their adaption journey to the microgravity conditions of space. She was recently promoted to Associate Professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. As a faculty member, she provides medical students with unique learning experiences by sharing real-life medical cases and promoting critical thinking. Her current research interests include bacterial responses to altered gravity (space microbiology), the oral cavity-brain microbiome axis, and non-antibiotic treatments to combat infections.