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Drug addiction is a brain disease. How can science help therapeutics to advance towards an effective treatment? Neuroscientist Liliana Cancela investigates the effects of drug use and stress on the human brain. To do this, she studies two particular chemical messengers (neurotransmitters): dopamine and glutamate. With her work, Liliana seeks to understand the behavior of the brain of an addict in order to help them. Liliana was always interested in Natural Sciences. Reading the book about the life of Marie Curie at the age of 16 was an inspiration for her choice of career. She is a Biochemist and holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Chemical Sciences (FCQ) of the UNC. She did her postdoctoral studies at Louisiana State University, USA (1995-1996). In 2004, she won the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA/INVEST Fellowship) to work at one of the reference centers on the neurobiology of addiction. She is currently a Professor at FCQ, UNC, a CONICET Researcher, and Vice Director of the Institute of Experimental Pharmacology of Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET-UNC). She collaborates with researchers from France, Germany, and the United States on the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction to opiates and psychostimulants. She has mentored ten doctoral students and has numerous international publications on the subject. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx