Since 2009, she has led or collaborated in numerous international research projects and received multiple awards. She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications and is widely recognized as a keynote speaker, peer reviewer, and expert advisor for academic journals, doctoral programs, research councils, and scientific committees. Dr. López-Íñiguez is the author of Real-Life Experiences of Children Gifted for Music (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), and co-editor of Caring for Gifted and Talented Music Learners (Oxford University Press, in press), Learning and Teaching in the Music Studio – A Student-Centred Approach (Springer, 2022), and Research Perspectives on Music Education in Ibero-America (Routledge, 2025).

Her practice-based, interdisciplinary research bridges learning psychology with philosophical and sociological approaches to music education and performance. Drawing on research in self-regulation, socio-cognitive constructivism, and developmental-ecological models of giftedness and talent, she examines musicians’ learning and development—including career trajectories, identity, motivation, emotional and psychological wellbeing, and other aspects of growth. Her scholarship is further informed by care ethics and sustainability, as well as systemic and organisational perspectives, through which she conceptualises music education and performance as relational, value-laden, and evolving systems shaped by organisations, policies, and human interaction. Her methodologically innovative work integrates evidence-informed learning, reflective practice, and the embodied experience of music-making with conceptual and theoretical approaches to sustainable music education and performance ecosystems. She supervises international doctoral researchers working across these interconnected domains, thereby empowering and nurturing the next generation of game changers.

Dr. López-Íñiguez earned her Doctorate in Psychology, applied to music education, from Madrid Autonomous University in 2014, graduating summa cum laude and later receiving the extraordinary prize for the faculty’s best doctoral thesis, establishing a strong foundation for her interdisciplinary research. Although her performing career is currently on hold due to academic commitments, she is a classically trained cellist. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance from the Madrid Royal Conservatory and a Master’s degree in Period Cello Performance from the Sibelius Academy. Her recordings of the complete cello works by Gabrielli and Scarlatti (2018) and Mendelssohn (2019), released by Alba Records, received critical acclaim. She has performed at leading venues and festivals across Europe and the U.S. on baroque, classical, and modern cellos.