Team Bio

We are a team of veterinarians passionate about wildlife and marine sciences, all alumni from the Universidad de Chile, all with professional and/or graduate studies in Chile or abroad and experience in wild and marine mammals medicine. Most of the team worked in Cobquecura the past summer and since then we have been meeting regularly to search for funding opportunities to carry out health assessments of sea lions’ pups and under the One Health approach learn about pathogens on this colony.

Sofía Navarrete

Since childhood I have had a great passion for nature and science, I always wanted to be a veterinarian. During my first year at university, I decided to dedicate my life to conserving nature and to use all my knowledge, time, and resources to help the planet. I feel a deep connection with nature and my life is absolutely linked to it, all time I am thinking about how I can contribute to its protection and I have infinite ideas and projects in my mind that I hope to fulfill in a not too distant future. I am a veterinarian student close to graduation from the Universidad de Chile and I want to continue with postgraduate studies. My academic experience has been closely related to wildlife, I have worked in research projects, I have developed in the field of rehabilitation of marine and terrestrial animals, where I have strengthened my knowledge in management and medicine wildlife. The rehabilitation and rescue of marine animals is one of my great passions, which is why I have been working voluntarily with South American sea lions for two years. A few months ago, together with a great team, we managed to create the Foundation for the Conservation of Nature, to actively protect the ecosystems of our country, share our knowledge and bring communities closer to science.

Galaxia Cortés Hinojosa

A veterinarian graduate from the Universidad de Chile with a master's in marine sciences and a Ph.D. under the Aquatic Animal Health program from The University of Florida. Galaxia has been working in the ecology of marine vertebrates since 2005 and in marine mammals pathogens discovery since 2010. Dr. Cortés-Hinojosa is currently an assistant professor of veterinary virology and zoological medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile. Her research focus is on pathogen surveillance and discovery in marine vertebrates, One Health, and Conservation Medicine. She has an ongoing project investigating the virus diversity in South American pinnipeds (Otaria Byronia and Arctocephalus australis) in remote locations with minimal anthropogenic intervention. The results obtained from the current proposal will be used to further understand the diversity of pathogens in South America pinniped populations and the effect of proximity to population areas on pathogens diversity as well as the zoonotic potential of the interaction of tourist with sea lion pups.

María Violeta Barrera N.

Veterinarian graduated from the University of Chile. After graduation, she worked on one largest South American fur seal breeding colonies. She completed a specialization in wildlife and conservation and since then has been working with terrestrial and aquatic wildlife in Chile and the Amazon. She is currently pursuing a Ph. D. degree with an emphasis in conservation medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Josefina Gutierrez

Since I was very young I've had a passion for animals, that's why I decided to become a Vet. During my career, I have dedicated my life to treat and research marine mammal's health, which has to lead me to train in the area. In my master’s research project I worked with population genetics and disease ecology in one of the largest South American fur seal breeding colony and I have been working with otariids since 2008.

Pedro Jimenez Bluhm

Veterinarian graduated from the University of Chile and Ph.D. graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Founding member of the WISC-WDA Student Chapter (2014). Currently studying gene flow and evolution of avian influenza viruses in shorebirds in Chile. Actively researching topics of disease transmission at the animal-human interface.

Gemma Rojo Aravena

A veterinarian graduate from Universidad de Chile with a Ph.D. in "Ciencias Silvoagropecuarias y Veterinarias" (Ph.D. in Forestry, agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences). Gemma has been working with wildlife reservoirs for infectious diseases with a One Health approach, and currently is doing research on SARS-CoV-2 wildlife infections. Dr. Rojo is an assistant professor of veterinary zoology, ecology, and parasitology at Universidad de O'Higgins, San Fernando, Chile.