Maria L. Medalla, PhD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

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.

Publications

  • Published 9/21/2026

    Rickner HD, Jiang L, Hong R, O'Neill NK, Mojica CA, Snyder BJ, Zhang L, Shaw D, Medalla M, Wolozin B, Cheng CS. Author Correction: Single cell transcriptomic profiling of a neuron-astrocyte assembloid tauopathy model. Nat Commun. 2026 Sep 21; 17(1). PMID: 42768023.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 8/27/2026

    Gonzalez-Burgos G, Benavides-Piccione R, Neef A, Inoue W, Muller L, Jimenez-Sosa MS, Staiger JF, Medalla M, Luebke JI. Diversity of Layer 3 Pyramidal Neuron Properties Across Areas of the Primate Neocortex. Biol Psychiatry. 2026 Aug 27. PMID: 42660219.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 8/19/2026

    Zhou Y, Hsiung M, Capriglione AL, Joyce MKP, Bhatt H, Mojica CA, Chang W, Tsolias A, Moore TL, Rosene DL, Luebke JI, Medalla M. Subregional and Laminar Specializations of Pyramidal Neurons in the Macaque Anterior Cingulate Cortex. J Neurosci. 2026 Aug 19; 46(33). PMID: 42476911.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/19/2026

    Tsolias A, Mojica CA, Yamani R, Khanna SD, Al Abdullatif S, Snyder BJ, Chang W, Guillamon-Vivancos T, Goodliffe J, Capriglione AL, Zhou Y, Tan Palanca IL, Martinez J, Campbell JD, Luebke JI, Zeldich E, Medalla M. Transcriptional and functional profiles of muscarinic receptor-expressing neurons in primate lateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices. Commun Biol. 2026 Mar 19; 9(1). PMID: 41857244.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/2/2025

    Mackie EC, Cheng CH, Alibrio MN, Rutledge C, Xin H, Chopp M, McCann RP, Rosene DL, Yang Q, Zeldich E, Medalla M, Koo BB, Moore TL. Mesenchymal cell-derived extracellular vesicles ameliorate age-related deficits in working memory and in vivo MRI measures of white matter structure and function in rhesus monkeys. Geroscience. 2026 Oct; 48(5):6775-6799. PMID: 41329450.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 64 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Graduate Medical Sciences Educator and Mentor (Primary Mentor of Graduate Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Websites

Education

  • Boston University, PhD
  • University Philippines, BS

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