BioKoinos
Philosophy of Biology UCMadrid Group
Current Visitors
Marina Acero
Marina Acero is currently an Invited Investigator and Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Logic and Theoretical Philosophy at the Complutense University of Madrid, under the guidance of Prof Stella Villarmea. She actively contributes to the research projects 'Philosophy of Birth' and 'BioKoinos’.
In 2020, she obtained 'Severo Ochoa'; PhD fellowship at the University of Oviedo to complete her doctoral thesis: 'On Monsters, Mothers, and Chimeras: Abjection, Vulnerability, and Resistance. Towards a Philosophy of Reproduction'. She taught at the same university and did research stays at the Praxis Research Group, CFUL (University of Lisbon), and ITRALI (University of Guadalajara).
In 2016, she received a CONACYT scholarship to pursue a Master's in Social Anthropology at CIESAS-Sureste. She investigated on suicide narratives within indigenous populations and explored self-management and mutual support groups in mental health. She started to think about the link between mental health, attachment and birth, following studies about traditional midwifery. She graduated in Philosophy (UNED, 2015), where she was recognized with the Faculty of Philosophy's Academic Excellence Award. Thanks to a Santander Universities scholarship, she explored decolonial and intercultural studies during a research stay at the University Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo.
Her primary focus is on understanding how we, from a Western cultural perspective, conceptualize the pregnant body and its relation to recognition problem and intersubjectivity processes. Therefore, her areas of interest include the philosophy of birth and reproduction, intersubjectivity and identity, perinatal and mental health, as well as aesthetic, literary, and cinematic expressions related to reproduction and birth.
Contact: aceromarina[at]uniovi.es / caracero[at]ucm.es / marinasacero[at]gmail.com
Bruna Fani Duarte Rocha
Bruna Fani Duarte Rocha is currently an Invited Investigator and PhD Researcher in the Department of Logic and Theoretical Philosophy at the Complutense University of Madrid, under the guidance of Professor Stella Villarmea. She actively contributes to the research projects 'Philosophy of Birth' and 'BioKoinos.’
Through the issuance of studies and research, she aims to foster a dialogue between two fields of knowledge, Philosophy and Anthropology, focusing on the Philosophy of birth and motherhood and their intercultural translations in European and Latin American contexts. Her primary focus is to understand the politicization process of motherhood in the contemporary construction of activism against obstetric violence, through the political action of the association El Parto es Nuestro.
She obtained the scholarship PRINT/CAPES from the Brazilian Government to come to Madrid with the project "Maternity and Feminism: an ethnography about the association El Parto es Nuestro from Madrid, Spain." In 2022, she received an Honorable Mention award in the Human Rights category from the Brazilian Anthropology Association for the paper "PARTO, VIOLÊNCIA OBSTÉTRICA E EMOÇÕES: O (RE)CONHECIMENTO DA DOR NO COTIDIANO DE MÃES ENLUTADAS E DE 'MÃES ESPECIAIS," published by the association editor.
In 2019, she received a CAPES scholarship to pursue a Master's in Social Sciences at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM). She investigated experiences of obstetric violence within social movements and explored the relationship between emotions and politics. She began to consider the link between emotions and political practices, pregnancy, and birth, following studies on obstetric violence. She graduated in Letras (UFSM, 2015), where she received government support with student housing, university restaurant, and economic support.
Contact: faniduartee[at]gmail.com / brduarte[at]ucm.es
Former Visitors
Juan Carlos Gallego-Gómez
Juan Carlos Gallego-Gómez completed his undergraduate studies in Medicine at the University of Quindío (Colombia). He holds a Biology degree, with a major in Genetics and a notable emphasis on zoology, from the University of Valle. He obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from the Autonomous University of Madrid and the National Center of Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC) in Spain. Currently, he serves as a professor and researcher at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia. He leads the Molecular and Translational Medicine Group. Presently, he is pursuing a second PhD in Philosophy of Science at the University of Valle (Cali, Colombia) under the guidance of Juan Carlos Moreno-Ortíz from Saint Thomas Aquinas University in Bogotá, Colombia. His research interests span philosophy, history, and sociology of biology and medicine. His doctoral thesis focuses on the historical assembly of the cell as an epistemic-scientific entity using the historical epistemology approach. More recently, he has delved into exploring metaphysics within biology for comprehending the cell through the lenses of process and substantialist ontologies.
Juan Carlos Gallego-Gómez visited BioKoinos from September 2023 to February 2024. During this period, he collaborated on research involving the development of metaphysical approaches to understanding the cell as an epistemic-scientific entity alongside Laura Nuño de la Rosa.
Contact: juan.gallego.gomez[at]correounivalle.edu.co
David Cortés García
David Cortés García is a graduate in Biology from the University of Salamanca (2018) who obtained his Master’s in Philosophy, Science and Values at the University of the Basque Country (2019), where he is currently working in his PhD in Philosophy of Biology under the supervision of Arantza Etxeberria and Mikel Torres.
Research Interests: He is interested the philosophy, history and social studies of biology. His current research is oriented towards organismal biology, evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) and organizational approaches to life as applied to understanding and theorizing reproductive processes in biology.
David visited BioKoinos from September to December 2023. During this period, he investigated the evolution of viviparity in conversation with Laura Nuño de la Rosa.
Contact: david.cortes[at]ehu.eus
Francisco Haro Almansa
Francisco Haro Almansa graduated in philosophy in 2015. He is currently working on a doctoral thesis at the University of Málaga on the problem of the Indeterminacy of Matter in physics (from Laplace's demon to quantum mechanics) and in Aristotelian philosophy. His research focuses on the philosophical assumptions (ontological and gnoseological) of the problem of the indeterminacy of matter, such as the problem of causality, the concept of movement or the essence of matter. Francisco Haro Almansa defends the idea that the concepts of Aristotelian natural philosophy (especially "potency" or "ens per accidens") allow for an adequate resolution of this much debated question in contemporary physics.
Research interests: philosophy of nature, determination of matter, problem of causality, metaphysics, Aristotle, modern physics, quantum mechanics.
He visited BioKoinos from September 1st to November 30th 2022.