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30/04/2026 - General information

Dr Sara Mederos wins one of the L’Oréal-Unesco “For Women in Science”

She is one of the five researchers selected in this year's edition of these prestigious awards. The L'Oréal-Unesco "For Women in Science" programme seeks to promote and recognise the work of women scientists in Spain and to encourage scientific vocations among younger generations.

The L'Oréal-Unesco "For Women in Science" research awards have selected Dr Sara Mederos, coordinator of the Neural Computation Laboratory at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, in this year's edition of the awards. The award ceremony took place in Madrid on 29 April.

Dr Mederos is one of the five researchers selected by the awards jury to promote their work. The awards are endowed with €15,000 to support and promote their work during 2026. The requirements for granting the awards are the scientific quality of the research project submitted and its contribution to science and society, as well as the career path and merits of the researcher leading it.

Dr. Sara Mederos

Understanding how the brain makes decisions in risky situations

The study led by Dr Mederos at the HMRIB Neural Computation Laboratory will analyse the neural circuits that regulate the decisions made by our brain, enabling it to decide in real time whether to remain in a safe environment or explore a potentially threatening one. Understanding these mechanisms is vital to advancing knowledge of how the brain generates flexible behaviours. The work will take biological sex into account as a variable.

This knowledge is essential for understanding the mechanisms involved in responses to threats, which, when altered, form the basis of anxiety disorders and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Analysing the neural circuits that coordinate these responses and their functional dynamics will help us understand how their alteration leads to maladaptive behaviours and will lay the groundwork for the development of personalised treatments and approaches.

The project has both a scientific dimension, aimed at understanding how the brain integrates information to make decisions, and a healthcare and social dimension, offering a better approach to the treatment of certain disorders.

Dr Sara Mederos

Sara Mederos holds a degree in Biochemistry from the Autonomous University of Madrid and a master's degree in Neuroscience. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine. Her field of expertise is understanding how flexible behaviours emerge from interactions within brain circuits. In addition to the L'Oréal-UNESCO "For Women in Science" award, she has also received a Junior Leader fellowship from the "la Caixa" Foundation and a Ramón y Cajal contract.

She has joined the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, where she is principal investigator and co-director of the Neural Computation Laboratory, which she leads together with Dr Manuel Valero, after her time at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour at University College London. She is the author of 27 research articles. She won the FENS-EJN Award for Best Young Researcher from the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies in 2022 and the Janet Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award in 2025.

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