Dr. Albornoz completed his Ph.D. studies in August 2019 under the supervision of Prof. Matthew Cooper in the Institute for Molecular Biosciences at The University of Queensland (UQ). His Ph.D. project validated the NLRP3 inflammasome as a druggable therapeutic target for Parkinson’s disease, work published in Science Translational Medicine in 2018. His research has assisted in the development of next-generation NLRP3 inhibitors in collaboration with the company Inflazome Ltd, and identified the lead clinical candidate (Inzomelid), now being tested in human clinical trials. He is currently extending his research as a postdoctoral research fellow within Prof. Woodruff's Neuroinflammation Laboratory at the School of Biomedical Sciences, UQ. His research focuses on the pharmacological targeting of the innate immune response during neurodegeneration, and investigating immune cross-talk between the periphery and the CNS in Parkinson’s disease.