Maria L.A. Medalla, PhD
Associate Professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology
Biography
Dr. Medalla’s work combines cellular in vitro electrophysiological methods with multi-scale anatomic techniques to understand the biophysical and synaptic properties of neurons within prefrontal cortical (PFC) networks in non-human primate and rodent animal models. Her expertise includes patch-clamp recording, pathway tract-tracing, multiple immunohistochemical labeling techniques for light and electron microscopy (EM), 3D serial EM, and confocal microscopy. The major goal of her work is to understand how distinct limbic, sensory and motor networks interact and are controlled by the PFC – the central executive of the brain. Her current focus is on the medial prefrontal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in rhesus monkeys, an area important for attention, emotions and context-to-action transformations, and is selectively disrupted in many affective disorders such as depression and anxiety disorders.
Other Positions
- Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
Education
- Boston University, PhD
- University Philippines, BS
Publications
- Published on 9/30/2024
Cheng CH, Guan Y, Chiplunkar VP, Mortazavi F, Medalla ML, Sullivan K, O'Callaghan JP, Koo BB, Kelly KA, Michalovicz LT. Nerve agent exposure and physiological stress alter brain microstructure and immune profiles after inflammatory challenge in a long-term rat model of Gulf War Illness. Brain Behav Immun Health. 2024 Dec; 42:100878. PMID: 39430882.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/27/2024
DeVries SA, Dimovasili C, Medalla M, Moore TL, Rosene DL. Dysregulated C1q and CD47 in the aging monkey brain: association with myelin damage, microglia reactivity, and cognitive decline. Front Immunol. 2024; 15:1426975. PMID: 39399501.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/28/2024
Castro-Mendoza PB, Weaver CM, Chang W, Medalla M, Rockland KS, Lowery L, McDonough E, Varghese M, Hof PR, Meyer DE, Luebke JI. Proteomic features of gray matter layers and superficial white matter of the rhesus monkey neocortex: comparison of prefrontal area 46 and occipital area 17. Brain Struct Funct. 2024 Sep; 229(7):1495-1525. PMID: 38943018.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/12/2024
Tsolias A, Zhou Y, Mojica CA, Sakharkar M, Tsolias MZ, Moore TL, Rosene DL, Medalla M. Neuroanatomical Substrates of Circuit-Specific Cholinergic Modulation across the Primate Anterior Cingulate Cortex. J Neurosci. 2024 Jun 12; 44(24). PMID: 38719447.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/22/2023
DeVries SA, Conner B, Dimovasili C, Moore TL, Medalla M, Mortazavi F, Rosene DL. Immune proteins C1q and CD47 may contribute to aberrant microglia-mediated synapse loss in the aging monkey brain that is associated with cognitive impairment. Geroscience. 2024 Apr; 46(2):2503-2519. PMID: 37989825.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/2/2023
Bautista J, García-Cabezas MÁ, Medalla M, Rosene DL, Zikopoulos B, Barbas H. Pattern of ventral temporal lobe interconnections in rhesus macaques. J Comp Neurol. 2023 Dec; 531(18):1963-1986. PMID: 37919833.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/2/2023
Zhou Y, Bhatt H, Mojica CA, Xin H, Pessina MA, Rosene DL, Moore TL, Medalla M. Mesenchymal-derived extracellular vesicles enhance microglia-mediated synapse remodeling after cortical injury in aging Rhesus monkeys. J Neuroinflammation. 2023 Sep 02; 20(1):201. PMID: 37660145.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/15/2023
Medalla M, Zikopoulos B. Laminar Excitatory Inputs to the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex: Implications for Periadolescent Synaptic Plasticity and Circuit Pathology. Biol Psychiatry. 2023 Aug 15; 94(4):280-282. PMID: 37495330.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/26/2023
Medalla M, Mo B, Nasar R, Zhou Y, Park J, Luebke JI. Comparative features of calretinin, calbindin, and parvalbumin expressing interneurons in mouse and monkey primary visual and frontal cortices. J Comp Neurol. 2023 Dec; 531(18):1934-1962. PMID: 37357562.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/15/2023
Zhou Y, Bhatt H, Mojica CA, Xin H, Pessina M, Rosene DL, Moore TL, Medalla M. Mesenchymal-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Enhance Microglia-mediated Synapse Remodeling after Cortical Injury in Rhesus Monkeys. Res Sq. 2023 May 15. PMID: 37292805.
Read at: PubMed
View 43 more publications: View full profile at BUMC