Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Universidad Católica del Uruguay. He obtained his Ph.D. in Critical Psychology from University College London (UCL, UK, 2019), his Master's in Social Psychology from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM, Spain, 2013), and his Clinical Psychology degree from Universidad de Guayaquil (UG, Ecuador, 2006). He was a professor and researcher at UG for nearly a decade, where he taught courses in social psychology, community psychology, and qualitative research, in addition to supervising graduation projects and designing the Master's program in Community Psychology and Culture of Peace. He is a founding member of the Ecuadorian Network of Research in Psychology and has been invited as a Latin American representative to workshops on innovative interdisciplinary perspectives (Platform for Social Research on Mental Health in Latin America, Paris, 2017; Center for Culture and the Mind, New Delhi, 2023; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 2024). He has been awarded a scholarship by SENESCYT(Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Ecuador, 2012-13), funds for Ecuador - Belgium collaboration (VLIR-UOS Global Minds, 2021-22), and "competitive research funds" (UG, 2020-2024). He is a certified instructor in psychodramatic and sociodramatic approaches to groups (APSE, Ecuador, 2022).

Dr Manuel Capella investigates the intersection between collective mental health and peacebuilding, with a current focus on the deep prevention of greed. Using qualitative and mixed-methods designs, he has studied processes related to structural and cultural violence, experiences of horror and solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic, psychology training and the construction of professional identities, social protests and media coverage, the history of psychology, among others. In previous years, he has focused on the context of Ecuador, integrating such knowledge into international academic dialogues. He currently conducts his research from Uruguay and continues his collaboration with researchers from various countries.