Christian Gonzalez-Billault received his initial training in Biochemistry at the Universidad de Chile. He subsequently earned a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa in Madrid, Spain, under the supervision of Jesús Avila. Following his doctoral studies, he was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Madrid Regional Government. In 2003, he joined the Department of Biology in the Faculty of Science at the Universidad de Chile, where he currently holds the position of Full Professor. More recently, he has assumed partial appointments in the Department of Neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad de Chile, as well as in the Public Health Unit of the Institute for Nutrition and Food Technology at the same university.

From 2015 to 2023, he served as Director of the Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO), an aging research center funded through the Priority Areas Program of the Chilean Commission for Scientific and Technological Research. In 2023, he was appointed Vice President for Research and Development at the Universidad de Chile, while continuing to serve as Deputy Director of GERO.

Professor Gonzalez-Billault has played an active leadership role in the Chilean scientific community. He served as President of the Chilean Society for Biology, the country’s oldest and most traditional scientific society, and the Chilean Society for Neuroscience. He previously directed the PhD Program in Cell, Molecular, and Neuroscience at the Universidad de Chile and was a member of the Frontiers in Science group of the Chilean Academy of Sciences. In 2021, he became the first Chilean scientist to be appointed as an EMBO Associate Member.

The research conducted in his laboratory focuses on elucidating the role of cytoskeletal proteins in neuronal function, encompassing both physiological and pathological contexts. He initiated and has led a successful series of biennial workshops entitled “Emerging Concepts of the Neuronal Cytoskeleton,” held in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023, and 2025 with an additional meeting scheduled for 2027. This workshop series has received support from organizations such as ISN, EMBO, The Pew Foundation, IUBMB, IBRO-LARC, The Company of Biologists, Andor Technology, Nikon, Zeiss.

More recently, Professor Gonzalez-Billault’s research is centered on understanding the impact of aging on brain cells, including both neurons and glial cells. His group employs neurons derived from skin cells to model aging in vitro and investigates the functional and metabolic coupling between astrocytes and neurons during normal aging and in neurological disorders. In addition, he examines the consequences of cellular senescence on neuronal morphology and function, as well as the potential beneficial effects of the ketogenic diet on brain aging.