Marcelo González-Ortiz earned a PhD in Physiological Sciences from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 2009. From 2009 to 2018, he led the Vascular Physiology Lab at the Department of Physiology, and since 2018, he has been the head of the Maternal-Fetal Research Lab at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Faculty of Medicine at Universidad de Concepción in Chile. His research is focused on studying the regulation mechanisms of nitric oxide synthesis and calcium-activated potassium channels in the human placenta under both physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Currently, Dr. González-Ortiz's research projects concentrate on gestational diabetes and the effects of COVID-19 on the placenta and children.