Professor Roberto Emmanuele Mercadillo Caballero was born in Iztapalapa, Mexico City, in 1979. A psychologist, he obtained the degrees of Master in Sciences and Ph.D. in Biomedical Science at the Institute of Neurobiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He has been on research stays at the Technical University of Lisbon, the Complutense University of Madrid, and the Risk Behavior Prevention Mission in Paris. His curiosity in social neuroscience has led him to investigate the behavior of primates in the Mexican forest, sentimental expressions in Mayan people from Yucatan, experiences, and expressions of compassion and violence in police officers, attitudes of peace in people living in the Saharawi refugee’s camps in Algeria, and cognition and emotions of people living on the streets of Mexico City. Through neuroimaging, he has ventured into the neurobiology of empathy and moral emotions such as compassion, indignation, and anger, as well as some conditions such as attention deficit disorder and spinocerebellar ataxia. His training and work also involves therapeutic and psychosocial support for victims, as well as strategies for mediation and conflict resolution.

He has been a Professor at the Universidad Anahuac and the Institute of Neurobiology, UNAM. Since 2007 he has been an undergraduate and graduate professor in Physical Anthropology at the National School of Anthropology and History. He is part of the academic group for the Master in Physical Anthropology of the School of Anthropology and History of Northern Mexico. He is the author of more than 50 specialized articles and chapters on neuroscience and behavior; advisor on ten postgraduate theses, and a speaker at 60 national and international events. He is the author of the books “Evolution of Behavior. On monkeys, apes and humans” and “Portraits of the compassionate brain: A reflection on social neuroscience, police, and gender”, editor of the books “From neurons to culture”, “Brain, subjectivity and free will: Essays on neuroethics” and “The other in the sand: 21 views of Western Sahara” and translator of the book “Culture of peace: A possible utopia”. Since 2014 he has been a Conacyt Fellowship in the Neuroscience Area of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Iztapalapa Campus, where he coordinates the project on the use of inhalants in vulnerable people in Mexico. He is the Mexican representative at the International Colloquiums on Brain and Aggression, a member of the Culture of Peace News Network, and author and disseminator of the Declaration for the Transition towards a Culture of Peace in the 21st Century.