Dr Blanca Diaz-Castro obtained her PhD degree at the University of Seville – Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS) under the supervision of Dr. Jose Lopez-Barneo and Dr. Jose Ignacio Piruat. After a brief stay at Northwestern University, Chicago, in Dr. Peter Penzes lab, she completed her postdoctoral research at University of California, Los Angeles with Dr. Baljit Khakh. Blanca’s career has been centred on the study of molecular and cellular aspects of astrocyte biology that contribute to neuronal function in health and disease. During her training, she developed an interest on the close relationship of astrocytes with the brain vasculature. As a group leader at the UK DRI – University of Edinburgh, Blanca’s research focuses on the relationship between vascular disease and dementia. She is using her expertise on astrocyte biology towards the understanding of how blood-brain barrier cells communicate with each other and act as a bridge between the periphery and the brain.