Adrián Rodríguez-Contreras has a broad background in biology with specific training and expertise in neuroscience. He obtained a Biology degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Cincinnati. His main area of research is on developmental plasticity in the context of hearing development with a focus on how neuronal activity and environmental cues shape the development of neurons, glial cells and the cerebral vasculature in the auditory brainstem of neonate rodents. After 14 years at the City University of New York, Dr. Rodríguez-Contreras has recently joined the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the Northwestern University School of Communication where he continues his research to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of brain injury caused by oxygen shortage and its long-term consequences for auditory function and voice production in rodent models.