Boris Lucero, PhD

• LARGE-PD
• Biomarker
• Clinical Neuroscience
• Environment
• Epidemiology

Dr. Boris Lucero is a Full Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Universidad Católica del Maule (UCM), Talca, Chile, where he directs the Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neurosciences Research Center (CINPSI Neurocog) and until 2024 was the director of the Doctorate in Psychology program. Since 2007, he has held a professorial appointment at UCM, and from 2018 to 2020 he also served as Director of the Master’s program in Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health. He is an active member of the UCM Academic Committee for the Doctorate in Psychology (since 2018). He earned a Master from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 2010 and a PhD from the Universidad de Chile in 2016, complementing his training with a Diploma in Bioethical Discernment from UCM in 2019 and different training courses for research techniques in neuroscience (Transcranial magnetic stimulation, EEG). His early clinical work (2005–2007) as a psychologist in Talca laid the groundwork for his later academic career, which includes part-time teaching appointments at the Universidad de Talca, Universidad Autónoma del Sur, and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Dr. Lucero’s research bridges cognitive neuroscience, environmental epidemiology and neurotoxicology, focusing on how agrochemical exposures and climate-related stressors affect brain function in vulnerable populations . He has developed EEG studies and analyses to characterize cholinergic dysfunction in organophosphate-exposed agricultural workers and has led FONDECYT and FOVI grants to advance neurophysiological biomarkers, including transcranial magnetic stimulation based measures of short-latency afferent inhibition and pupil size response. Dr. Lucero’s international collaborations span the University of Cambridge, University of Amsterdam, Emory University and the ISEE network, reflecting his commitment to interdisciplinary exchange and capacity-building in the Global South. He regularly mentors graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and his work has informed national policies on pesticide regulation and occupational health, and also participated in discussions of the Chilean Congress about regulation of Neuro-rights.