Rodrigo Pacheco studied biochemistry at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile from 1995-2001. In 2006, he received a PhD from the University of Barcelona for his studies of the role of neurotransmitters in modulating human T-cell function. He returned to the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile for postdoctoral studies of the role of Fc-gamma receptors in dendritic cells in inflammation. Since 2009, Dr. Pacheco has been leading the Laboratory of Neuroimmunology of Fundación Ciencia and Vida, a Chilean nonprofit foundation geared toward performing basic and applied research in biomedicine. During these years’ Dr. Pacheco's team has been focused on studying how dopamine regulates T-cell driven inflammation in the gut and the brain in models of Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel diseases.