Bio:

Macarena Aloi joined the MindScope Program as a Scientific Project and Alliance Manager in 2023. While primarily supporting projects aimed at mapping in vivo physiology to spatial transcriptomics, including a project funded through the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) consortium, Macarena also supports the development of pipeline methods required to achieve project-specific scientific milestones. Macarena coordinates with colleagues throughout the BICAN consortium and NIH, Boston University, and Allen Institute to manage resources, identify roadblocks to progress, and support project activities. In addition, Macarena is actively involved in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging activities, coordinating outreach opportunities within Allen Institute and at the national scale to support de participation of diverse perspectives in STEM.

Macarena holds a PhD from the University of Washington (UW). As an HHMI Gilliam Fellow at UW, alongside Gwenn Garden, Macarena investigated the role of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease in animal models. In addition to her PhD, Macarena has completed two post-doctoral research experiences at Baylor College of Medicine. First, Macarena investigated the role of non-synaptic triggers of epilepsy in animal models with Jeffrey Noebels. Then, with the Gulf Coast Consortia and Ramiro Salas, Macarena investigated the impact of therapies on sleep in veterans under treatment for opioid use disorder by applying computational models to data from wearable devices and brain imaging. Macarena has contributed to numerous cross-functional, highly collaborative research projects that resulted in multiple publications.