Cecilia Hidalgo obtained the professional title of biochemist, Universidad de Chile in 1965, and, in 1969, she was the first woman to obtain a Doctorate in Sciences, mention in Biology, awarded by the Faculty of Sciences of the same university. She then did postdoctoral training as a Fogarty Fellow (1969-1972) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. Positions: She is currently a professor at the faculty of medicine, Universidad de Chile (1987- present) and she is a senior investigator of the Millennium Institute of Biomedical Neuroscience, BNI (2016-present); she was previously a BNI Investigator (2011-2015). She was the president of Chilean Academy of Sciences from 2019 to 2021 and was re-elected for the period 2022-2024. In the year 2006, she was the first woman to receive the National Prize in Natural Sciences. In 2004, the Universidad de Chile awarded her the Amanda Labarca
Medal of Merit, which is awarded to university women academics who have made outstanding contributions to the country.