Héctor de Jesús-Cortés, Ph.D.

Bear Lab Alum, 2015-2023

Research Interests

My research interests lay in understanding how the brain learns and later store memories, which are plastic (flexible) and sensitive to experience. As an undergraduate, my research focused in the biochemical characterization of a series of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the aggregation of the tau protein (tauopathies) in mice. For my graduate studies, my work centered around molecular mechanisms of neuronal cell death, involving both calcium signaling via the Cav1.2 subunit of L-type calcium channels, and on characterizing the neuroprotective efficacy of the novel P7C3 class of neuroprotective aminopropyl carbazole molecules. I later joined Dr. Bear’s lab for my postdoctoral training, where I currently study the physiology of synaptic plasticity, and how experience and pharmacological treatments can impact this process. I hope this work further expands our knowledge about the mechanisms of learning and memory in the healthy brain, and diverse neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Education

Ph.D. in Neuroscience – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center – 2015

B.Sc. in Molecular & Cell Biology – University of Puerto Rico (Rio Piedras Campus) – 2011