Maria Medalla, PhD
Associate Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Anatomy & Neurobiology

PhD, Boston University
BS, University Philippines



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.

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




Primate inhibitory neurons in hippocampal CA3-CA1 intrinsic circuits
04/01/2024 - 01/31/2029 (Multi-PI)
PI: Maria Medalla, PhD
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
5R01MH136013-02

Circuit structure and dynamics in prefrontal-limbic networks
02/01/2024 - 12/31/2028 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
5R01MH116008-07

Mechanisms underlying extracellular vesicle mediated changes in inflammation, neural circuitry and plasticity following cortical injury in aged monkeys
07/15/2022 - 06/30/2027 (Multi-PI)
PI: Maria Medalla, PhD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
5R01AG078460-04

Prefrontal-cingulate functional networks in aging monkeys: neural circuit substrates of cognitive aging
09/01/2023 - 08/31/2026 (Multi-PI)
PI: Maria Medalla, PhD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
1RF1AG083206-01

Compartment-specific inhibition and laminar circuit dynamics in the primate prefrontal cortex.
04/01/2024 - 03/31/2026 (Key Person / Mentor)
PI: Benjamin Snyder
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
5F30MH136779-02

Epigenetic determinants in oligodendrocyte maturation in Down Syndrome
07/01/2022 - 06/30/2025 (Multi-PI)
PI: Maria Medalla, PhD
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
1R21NS125469-01A1

Transcriptomic, physiological, and neurochemical profiling of cortico-limbic projection neurons in monkey anterior cingulate cortex
01/01/2022 - 11/30/2024 (Multi-PI)
PI: Maria Medalla, PhD
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
5R21MH126250-02

Circuit structure and dynamics in prefrontal-limbic networks
04/01/2019 - 01/31/2024 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
5R01MH116008-05

The efficacy of curcumin to facilitate recovery of function in a rhesus monkey model of cortical injury
09/30/2018 - 08/31/2021 (Multi-PI)
PI: Maria Medalla, PhD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
1R56AG059693-01

Physiology and Structure of Prefrontal Projections to Memory and Motor Circuits
09/23/2015 - 06/30/2019 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
5R00MH101234-05

Showing 10 of 11 results. Show All Results


Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs
2025 Primate inhibitory neurons in hippocampal CA3-CA1 intrinsic circuits 5R01MH136013-02
2025 Mechanisms underlying extracellular vesicle mediated changes in inflammation, neural circuitry and plasticity following cortical injury in aged monkeys 5R01AG078460-04
2025 Circuit structure and dynamics in prefrontal-limbic networks 5R01MH116008-07
2024 Primate inhibitory neurons in hippocampal CA3-CA1 intrinsic circuits 1R01MH136013-01
2024 Mechanisms underlying extracellular vesicle mediated changes in inflammation, neural circuitry and plasticity following cortical injury in aged monkeys 5R01AG078460-03
2024 Circuit structure and dynamics in prefrontal-limbic networks 2R01MH116008-06
2023 Prefrontal-cingulate functional networks in aging monkeys: neural circuit substrates of cognitive aging 1RF1AG083206-01
2023 Mechanisms underlying extracellular vesicle mediated changes in inflammation, neural circuitry and plasticity following cortical injury in aged monkeys 5R01AG078460-02
2023 Transcriptomic, physiological, and neurochemical profiling of cortico-limbic projection neurons in monkey anterior cingulate cortex 5R21MH126250-02
2023 Circuit structure and dynamics in prefrontal-limbic networks 5R01MH116008-05
Showing 10 of 23 results. Show All Results

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

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  1. Qian S, McCann RP, Shen S, Zhu X, Tsillas CM, Xin H, Wang M, Zhang Y, Zhang ZG, Chopp M, Medalla M, Moore TL, Qu J. Multicompartment Quantitative Proteomics Revealing Potential Mechanisms Underlying the Treatment Effects of Mesenchymal-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in a Monkey Model of Cortical Injury. J Proteome Res. 2025 Nov 07; 24(11):5664-5682.View Related Profiles. PMID: 41032466; DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.5c00521;
     
  2. Qiang Y, Gu W, Jang D, Shin Y, Shi D, Seo KJ, Li G, Vinnikova S, Wu S, Iyer A, Artoni P, Ryu J, Bai T, Dhawan V, Medalla M, Rosene DL, Moore TL, Koppes AN, Koppes R, Liou JY, Chandrasekaran C, Cui XT, Wang S, Fang H. Monolithic three-dimensional neural probes from deterministic rolling of soft electronics. Nat Electron. 2025 Aug; 8(8):721-737.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40951322; PMCID: PMC12425490; DOI: 10.1038/s41928-025-01431-0;
     
  3. McCann RP, Bowley B, Pessina M, Yang Q, Xin H, DeVries SA, Wang M, Zhang Y, Chopp M, Zhang Z, Rosene DL, Zeldich E, Medalla M, Moore TL. Reduction of inflammatory biomarkers underlies extracellular vesicle mediated functional recovery in an aged monkey model of cortical injury. Front Aging Neurosci. 2025; 17:1605144.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40703679; PMCID: PMC12283759; DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1605144;
     
  4. LeBlang CJ, Medalla M, Nicoletti NW, Hays EC, Zhao J, Shattuck J, Cruz AL, Wolozin B, Luebke JI. Correction: Reduction of the RNA binding protein TIA1 exacerbates neuroinflammation in tauopathy. Front Neurosci. 2025; 19:1641304.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40666255; PMCID: PMC12261667; DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1641304;
     
  5. Tsolias A, Mojica CA, Yamani R, Khanna SD, Abdullatif SA, Snyder BJ, Chang W, Guillamon-Vivancos T, Goodliffe J, Capriglione AL, Palanca ILT, 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. bioRxiv. 2025 May 23.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40475401; PMCID: PMC12139755; DOI: 10.1101/2025.05.23.655820;
     
  6. 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.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39430882; PMCID: PMC11489046; DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100878;
     
  7. 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.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39399501; PMCID: PMC11466761; DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1426975;
     
  8. 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.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38943018; PMCID: PMC11374833; DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02819-y;
     
  9. 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).View Related Profiles. PMID: 38719447; PMCID: PMC11170673; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0953-23.2024;
     
  10. 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.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37989825; PMCID: PMC10828237; DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-01014-x;
     
Showing 10 of 58 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 58 publications over 19 distinct years, with a maximum of 10 publications in 2023

YearPublications
20051
20061
20071
20091
20101
20121
20132
20141
20153
20161
20174
20181
20193
20206
20217
20225
202310
20244
20255


2018 Boston University: Spivack Emerging Leader
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72 E. Concord St Housman (R)
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