The Transmitter’s directory of new labs in Latin America

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The Transmitter’s directory of new labs in Latin America features early-career neuroscientists who have opened labs or established independent lines of research within their institutions over the past five years. Are you a new principal investigator in Latin America? Email Francisco J. Rivera Rosario at [email protected] to be added to the directory.

Labs are listed in alphabetical order and by country of origin. Some descriptions have been translated into English by Francisco J. Rivera Rosario.

Argentina

Beckwith’s Behavioural Neurobiology Laboratory investigates the neural and physiological mechanisms underlying sleep, circadian rhythms and other innate behaviors, with a particular interest in how these processes interact with immunity and gut physiology, using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism.  

Cotella studies developmental programming of the adult stress response, with the aim of understanding the mechanisms of vulnerability and resilience to developmental stress and their implications in the etiology of psychiatric disorders in adulthood.

The Di Bella lab studies the development of the cerebral cortex and the diversification of neuronal subtypes.

Piatti’s lab aims to understand how neural activity anticipates the next action and how, through action, the biological network reorganizes through feedback from its interaction with the environment.

The Federman laboratory investigates the neural circuit dynamics underlying learning, with a particular emphasis on communication across distributed brain regions, using approaches that bridge cutting-edge neurotechnology, computational analysis and neuroethology.

Kaczer studies how humans are capable of language learning, processing and comprehension, using a combination of behavioral, neurophysiological and computational tools. 

Katz’s lab studies the regulation of the gut-brain axis using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as an experimental model.

Brazil

Avansini’s lab uses human stem-cell-derived brain organoids and assembloids to investigate mechanisms of drug-resistant epilepsy and to develop precision therapies.

Morato do Canto’s laboratory investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying focal cortical dysplasia type IIb and drug-resistant epilepsy using spatial multiomics approaches.

Radiske’s lab studies the neural mechanisms involved in the formation, expression and updating of fear memories in rodents and marmosets.

The Sobrinho lab investigates the mechanisms underlying the control of breathing, how these pathways are disrupted in disease states, and how the loss of autism-linked genes alters respiratory function.

Chile

Arrázola’s lab investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern the vulnerability and degeneration of the retina and visual circuits, with a focus on dominant optic atrophy, glaucoma and central nervous system aging.

Avilés’ research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that regulate neuronal tissue polarity and organization during development, using the retina as a model to understand the formation and maintenance of functional neural circuits.

Cornejo Corona studies the mechanisms of synaptic function and plasticity in mammals, using advanced in vivo microscopy techniques to study subcellular dynamics during learning and how these are altered in brain disorders.

The Cruzat Lab studies how the exposome—our cumulative biological, environmental and social experiences across life—shapes brain aging, dementia risk and brain health.

Escobar Maldonado combines behavioral, chemogenetic, neurochemical and histological techniques to study the neurobiological basis of compulsivity and maladaptive behaviors, with a focus on dopamine signaling.

Medel’s lab studies how arousal organizes brain states through neurovascular and metabolic mechanisms that link neuronal activity with systemic physiology, with a focus on cognition and aging.

The Migeot Guajardo lab studies the impact of the exposome on brain health, aging and dementia, with a special focus on populations in Latin America.

The Ochoa-Rosales lab investigates genetic factors associated with the development of dementia in genetically diverse populations. The laboratory also studies gene-exposome interactions and aging trajectories through epigenetic and multi-omics regulatory mechanisms.

Oñate and Vera—co-principal investigators and husband and wife— study how interactions between the cerebellum and the dopaminergic system regulate motor and non-motor behaviors in healthy states, aging and neurobiological disorders.

Pérez Valenzuela’s lab researches how cannabis exposure during crucial developmental periods alters brain maturation and leads to increased vulnerability to neuropsychiatric disorders. 

Slater Guzmán’s lab uses the frog Xenopus laevis to study neuronal development and regeneration in the spinal cord, with a special focus on intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate early responses to damage, including metabolism, mitochondria, the cytoskeleton and the extracellular microenvironment.

Zárate Canales’ lab uses Drosophila melanogaster as a model to investigate early alterations in redox homeostasis and their contribution to neuronal dysfunction and vulnerability during aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

Colombia

Velásquez Toledo’s lab integrates basic research and clinical work to study genetic, biological and contextual factors associated with mental and cerebral health from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Mexico

Inacio’s Neural Circuits to Action Lab investigates how neural circuits generate sensorimotor behavior and reorganize to support recovery after stroke.

López Virgen studies the role of growth factors during neurodevelopment and their role in autism, using a multidisciplinary approach that combines molecular neurobiology and behavior analysis.

Pérez Martínez’s group combines experimental neuroscience, mathematical modeling and data science to investigate how the nervous system encodes temporal information and how astrocytes contribute to information processing in the brain.

Uruguay

The Cavelli laboratory studies the functions of sleep and how brain states reorganize communication between the brain and the external world, with a particular focus on respiration, sensory processing and local sleep.