Mentor Directory

Name Email Address Affiliation Position Current work
Alejandro Almarza, PhD alejandro.almarza@pitt.edu University of Pittsburgh Faculty Osteoarthritis pain in rat models and human patients.
Alain Altamirano Espinoza, PhD ala164@pitt.edu University of Pittsburgh Research Instructor in Psychiatry La investigacion que lidereo, analiza los efectos de abstinencia largo plazo del consumo de alcohol en la arquitectura del sueño, ciclos circadianos y el posible papel de estructuras cerebrales en estos procesos.
Clara Berdasco, PhD claralae@gmail.com Rutgers University Postdoctoral Associate Neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and infectious diseases
Stephanie Correa, PhD stephaniecorrea@ucla.edu UCLA Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology Faculty I am a neuroendocrinologist studying how estrogen signaling modulates the neural circuits that control energy balance.
Luisa Fernanda Gomez-Alatorre, PhD luisaalt01@gmail.com Rutgers University-Newark Doctoral Graduate My PhD research focused in understanding how the anterior insular cortex represented salience and prediction errors at both the population and single cell level.
Alicia Guemez-Gamboa, PhD alicia.guemez@northwestern.edu Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. Faculty The main objective of our lab is to identify and investigate novel molecular bases of cell-cell communication that control fate and circuit assembly during human development and disease.
Sergio Iñiguez, PhD sdiniguez@utep.edu University of Texas at El Paso Faculty Using rodents as a model system, my laboratory investigates the long-term neurobehavioral effects of psychotropic medication and/or stress exposure across the lifespan.
Claudia López Lloreda, PhD clopezlloreda@gmail.com The Transmitter, Simons Foundation Reporter I did my PhD in neuroscience, and now I am working as a science journalist covering neuroscience news.
Beatriz Luna, PhD lunab@upmc.edu University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychiatry Faculty We use multimodal neuroimaging to understand the brain mechanisms that support the normative transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Ruth Elena Martinez Mendoza, PhD rumartin@wakehealth.edu Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Mechanisms Laboratory. Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem Faculty I am currently working in collaboration with the Romero-Sandoval laboratory, which focuses on studying the molecular mechanisms underlying chronic pain. My specialization centers on the analysis of animal behavior as a tool to assess pain, using preclinical models that allow the observation of spontaneous behaviors and responses to nociceptive stimuli in conditions such as osteoarthritis.
Diego Mendoza-Halliday, PhD diegomendoza@pitt.edu Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh Faculty My lab studies the neuronal mechanisms underlying the maintenance and manipulation of mental representations in working memory and their contribution to other cognitive functions.
Paige Miranda, PhD paige@thetransmitter.org The Transmitter  Audience development associate, science journalist, and producer I build partnerships between The Transmitter and other neuroscience organizations and communities. I am also a science journalist and podcast producer. Happy to chat about all things science journalism and audio!
Alejandro Pluma Pluma, PhD aplumapl@wakehealth.edu Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Mechanisms Laboratory, Wake Forest University I am currently working in the field of pain research, with a particular focus on the molecular mechanisms underlying pain induced by chronic stress. In addition, I collaborate with the Romero-Sandoval Laboratory on various projects, including osteoarthritis, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, and novel therapeutic approaches. One such approach involves the transfection of CD163, which has shown promise in resolving inflammatory pain.
Stephanie Puig, PhD, PhD stephanie.puig1@umassmed.edu UMass Chan Medical School Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobiology My laboratory uses a combination of rodent behavioral neuropharmacology, genetics, optogenetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, microscopy, cell culture and ‘-omics’, to investigate the role that Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs) play downstream of the Mu-opioid receptor (MOR) to mediate opioid side-effects. My long-term goal is to elucidate molecular mechanisms and neural circuits that mediate opioid tolerance, physical dependence, addiction, and respiratory depression, and identify targets to make opioids safer. As a woman from a diverse background, I am also committed to promote workforce diversity by helping advance the likelihood that underserved younger generations of women and men from underrepresented groups, pursue careers in biomedical research and science.
Francisco J. Rivera Rosario francisco@thetransmitter.org The Transmitter  Associate editor, opinion and community In my role as an editor at The Transmitter, I edit scientist-written essays, write Launch, our monthly newsletter for early-career researchers and develop resources for the community, like our neuroscience conferences and courses calendars.
Víctor Manuel Suárez Casanova, PhD victordamiensuarez@icloud.com Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP Staff Scientist Dr. Víctor Manuel Suárez Casanova assists Choate’s life sciences clients by utilizing his background in neuroscience and biotechnology to help with the preparation and prosecution of domestic and foreign patent applications, as well as freedom-to-operate and patentability analyses.
Alberto Vazquez, PhD alv15@pitt.edu Departments of Radiology and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Associate Professor My research focuses on neural, vascular and metabolic imaging of normal brain function in vivo with extensions to neurological pathologies, especially Alzheimer’s disease.