Laura Karina Golláz Romero, daughter of Gloria Elena Golláz de Bárnum, was adopted on September 16, 1994 by her stepfather, Patrick Warren Barnum.
She received a full scholarship to attend the School of Medicine at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico, graduating as a "Médico, Cirujano y Partero" (Physician, Surgeon and Midwife) in December of 1998. Following the completion of her government service, in February 2000, she began three years of graduate work in Anesthesiology at the hospital of the Mexican Social Security Institute [Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social (IMSS)] in Guadalajara. Upon receiving her certification as an anesthesiologist, she began private practice in Guadalajara.