Bio:

Melissa Lerch joined the Allen Institute in 2023 as the Scientific Project and Alliance Manager for the CONNECTS HIVE Consortium to generate a 3D synaptic map of the mouse brain and create educational curriculum to engage the next generation of neuroscientists to explore the intricate neural networks of the brain. Melissa previously worked at the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center as the Research Team Manager. She is passionate about open science and creating solutions to complex issues that can impact the greater scientific community and society.

Melissa earned her PhD in Oceanography (Marine Natural Products Chemistry) from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC San Diego after obtaining a BS in Chemistry from University of California, Davis. Melissa has an extensive range of experiences ranging from marine natural products chemistry discovering novel HIV integrase inhibitors, RNA editing in Trypanosomes, development of clinical diagnostics, and the modernization and expansion of biomarker data availability for 37 nationwide Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers.