Dr. Cortes is an Assistant Professor of Gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Her academic work focuses heavily on neuroscience, metabolism, and age-associated neurodegenerative conditions.

 She completed her Bachelor of Science at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and earned her PhD from the University of Chicago.

 Prior to her role at USC, she held faculty or research positions at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Duke University School of Medicine.