Patricia López Legarrea, from Pamplona, has a degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Navarra, where, in 2013, she also obtained the doctorate in Food, Physiology and Health. Under the direction of Professors Alfredo Martínez and Marian Zulet, experts in nutrition from the School of Pharmacy, members of the Institute of research Sanitary of Navarra (IDISNA) and the research center Biomedical in network-Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn); López focused her research on the assessment of a new dietary strategy to treat obesity and the associated state of inflammation through hormonal and epigenetic mechanisms.

During the thesis Lopez made a research stay in Australia. After this international experience, she finished doctorate and wanted to try her luck abroad again. And the opportunity came: for a year and a half she has been professor and researcher at the University of Santiago de Chile. There she teaches Human Physiology and is involved in several research projects on obesity, nutrition and eating habits. Among them, "we are working on adapting the Mediterranean per diem expenses in Chile," she says.

Today, La Diáspora, Diario de Navarra's section on the experiences of Navarrese who study and work around the world, is dedicated to the adventure of this nutritionist who, by crossing the pond, has found her place of professional development and staff. As she declares, Chile is "a country of opportunities".