Hii, I'm Cathaysa Rodríguez-Cedrés

I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Basic and Experimental Biomedicine from the University of Seville, and later completed a Master's degree in Neuroscience at the University of the Basque Country. I am currently starting my PhD in co-tutelle between the University of the Basque Country and the University of Bordeaux, under the supervision of Dr. Edgar Soria-Gómez and Dr. Giovanni Marsicano.

My PhD project focuses on the role of astrocytes in the medial habenula and their involvement in emotional behaviour in response to stress. To investigate this, I will combine chemogenetics, optogenetics, and behavioural analysis to understand how peripheral signals can shape brain function, and how this breaks down in conditions like anxiety or depression.

Outside the research world I am just beginning to explore, I like to clear my mind by putting a few kilos over my head (literally, through weightlifting). A simple way to disconnect and get a small dopamine boost, which is always welcome.

At Euskampus Bordeaux Eguna (Irún, 2026) I presented a poster on astrocyte morphology. If you’ve ever wondered where all those numbers actually come from, I put together a short interactive guide showing how each morphometric variable is obtained in Fiji: Skeleton analysis (2D), SNT tracing (3D, where the volume comes from) and Sholl analysis (how complexity changes with distance from the soma). Each method includes a screen recording of the whole process, from opening the image to the results table.

👉 Explore the interactive material