I’m Juliana Manrique-Cordoba, an Industrial Automation Engineer from Colombia with a passion for medical robotics and diabetes technology. My academic path started at Universidad del Cauca, where I graduated in 2019.  During my studies, I took part in two international exchange programs—one in Greece (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and another in Spain (Miguel Hernández University of Elche). That last experience sparked my interest in biomedical robotics and laid the foundation for my current work. Since 2019, I’ve been part of the Medical Robotics Research Group at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche. Along the way, I completed a second degree in Industrial Electronic and Automatic Engineering (2020) and a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering (2023), both in Spain—with awards for the best undergraduate and master’s theses.

My research has focused mainly on robotics applied to healthcare, especially in surgical robotics and diabetes management. I’ve worked on mathematical modeling of insulin regulation systems and the influence of the menstrual cycle on glucose control. This work has been shared through publications, conferences like ATTD and IEEE EMBC, and collaboration networks such as RitaDiab.  In September 2024, I had the honor of presenting at the 35th Annual iSMIT Conference in Cáceres, Spain, where I received the  International Society for Medical Innovation and Technology Young Researcher Award for our work on surgical trajectory analysis using machine learning.

I have completed a European PhD in robotic surgery with a focus on neurosurgery. Alongside research, I’ve also been active in teaching innovation, mentoring undergrads, and promoting STEM education in schools. From aerospace tech in Colombia to robotic surgery in Spain—it’s been quite a journey, and I’m just getting started.