Elsa Pittaras | Neuroscience | Women Researcher Award

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Dr. Elsa Pittaras | Neuroscience | Women Researcher Award

Elsa Pittaras is a Basic Life Research Scientist at Stanford University, specializing in neuroscience, cognition, and sleep research. With expertise in molecular biology, neuroanatomy, pharmacology, and behavior, she has extensively studied decision-making processes in mice. Her research has contributed significantly to understanding sleep deprivation’s effects on cognition and memory in Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease models. She has published multiple papers as both first and last author, showcasing her leadership in neuroscience. Elsa’s goal is to advance research on mood disorders, cognition, and neurochemistry, aspiring to become an independent researcher in the U.S. 🇺🇸🔬🧠

Profile

Education 🎓

Elsa Pittaras earned a B.S. in Physiology from the University of Caen (2010), an M.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Paris Sud and ENS Cachan (2012), and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Neuro-PSI and the Biomedical Research Unit of the French Army (2016). Her multidisciplinary foundation in biology, physics, chemistry, and mathematics from Châtelet, Douai (2009) laid the groundwork for her neuroscience expertise. Throughout her education, she focused on decision-making, sleep deprivation, and neurochemical mechanisms in cognition. 🧠📚🎓

Experience 👨‍🏫

Elsa Pittaras has been a Basic Life Research Scientist at Stanford University since 2022, focusing on cognitive enhancement in Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease models. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford (2017-2022), investigating sleep and circadian rhythms’ effects on memory. Previously, she conducted research at the Biomedical Research Unit of the French Army (2016-2017) and completed her Ph.D. at Neuro-PSI. Her career includes internships in neuroscience at Neuro-PSI (2011-2012) and clinical observations at CHU Caen (2010). 🏛️🧬🧪

Research Interests 🔬

Elsa’s research explores decision-making, memory, and sleep in neurodevelopmental disorders. She pioneered the Mouse Gambling Task, revealing individual decision-making strategies. Her Ph.D. identified neurochemical markers of decision-making behaviors and the effects of sleep deprivation. At Stanford, she investigates sleep’s impact on cognition in Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s models, aiming to improve memory and sleep quality through pharmacological interventions. Her work bridges behavioral neuroscience with neurochemistry to enhance cognitive function. 🧠💡🛌

Awards & Recognitions 🏅

Elsa has received prestigious grants, including the Jerome Lejeune Research Grants (2019, 2020), the Fyssen Foundation Research Grant (2017), and travel awards for conferences such as T21RS (2021) and Advances in Sleep and Circadian Science (2019). She was also recognized by the French Society for Research and Sleep Medicine (2014) and received a European Neuroscience Federation travel award (2016). 🏅

Publications 

  • Selectively Blocking Small Conductance Ca2+-Activated K+ Channels Improves Cognition in Aged Mice.

  • Short-term γ-aminobutyric acid antagonist treatment improves long-term sleep quality, memory, and decision-making in a Down syndrome mouse model

  • Behavioral and Neuronal Characterizations, across Ages, of the TgSwDI Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease.

  • Inter-individual differences in cognitive tasks: focusing on the shaping of decision-making strategies

  • Handling, task complexity, time-of-day, and sleep deprivation as dynamic modulators of recognition memory in mice

  • Enhancing sleep after training improves memory in down syndrome model mice

 

Crhistiane Andressa da Silva | Chronobiology and Memory | Neurocognitive Breakthrough Award

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Dr. Crhistiane Andressa da Silva | Chronobiology and Memory | Neurocognitive Breakthrough Award

 

Estúdio Amanhecer, Brazil

Profile

Education

She earned her Doctorate in Psychology from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil, in 2012, with a Sandwich Doctorate at the Universitat de Barcelona under the supervision of Antoni Díez-Noguera. Her doctoral research, titled SAGUIS (Callithrix jacchus) SOB CICLO CLARO-ESCURO DE 21 H: UM MODELO DE DESSINCRONIZAÇÃO FORÇADA EM PRIMATA DIURNO, was conducted under the guidance of John Fontenele Araujo, with Carolina Virgínia Macedo de Azevedo as a co-advisor. She received a scholarship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Brazil.

She completed her Master’s in Pharmacology at UFRN in 2007, with a thesis titled EFEITOS DE VOCALIZAÇÕES DE CO-ESPECÍFICOS E DO ESCURO SOBRE O RITMO CIRCADIANO DA ATIVIDADE MOTORA EM SAGÜIS (Callithrix jacchus), under the supervision of Carolina Virgínia Macêdo de Azevedo. Her research was supported by a CAPES scholarship.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from UFRN in 2003, with a thesis titled Perfil Diário do Comportamento de Autocatação Durante Um Ciclo Ovariano em Díades de Saguis (Callithrix jacchus), under the supervision of Carolina Virgínia Macêdo de Azevedo. She received a scholarship from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil.

Work experience

She worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB) from 2014 to 2017 under a full-time and exclusive contract. She then continued her postdoctoral research at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE) from 2017 to 2018 under the same work scheme.

In 2018, she served as a part-time Professor at Faculdade Escritor Osman da Costa Lins (FACOL), where she taught the course Práticas Integrativas Complementares em Saúde for the Physiotherapy program.

Since 2021, she has been the owner and full-time instructor at Estúdio Amanhecer, where she teaches yoga.

Areas of Expertise

She specializes in Public Health within the broader field of Health Sciences, as well as Physiology and General Biology within Biological Sciences. Her expertise also extends to Zoology, with a focus on Animal Behavior.

Scientific, Technological & Academic Production

She has contributed to bibliographic research and publications in her fields of study.

Citations

Her research has been cited in various academic databases:

  • Web of Science: 44 citations across 3 articles (as of June 2, 2024), with an H-index of 3.
  • Google Scholar: 26 citations across 9 articles (as of January 17, 2017).

The citation search included variations of her name: Silva, C.A.; da Silva, C.A.; CA da Silva; CA Silva; C da Silva, Crhistiane Andressa da Silva; Christiane Andressa da Silva; da Silva, Christiane Andressa; da Silva, Crhistiane Andressa

Awards & Recognitions

  • 2023 & 2024: TOP MASTER GOLD award by popular vote, recognized as a distinguished professional in her field in Rio Grande do Norte for her contributions to local development.
  • 2022: Named Best Yoga Teacher of 2022 in Natal and awarded Best of the Year in Natal.
  • 2017: Secured second place in the Banner category on the theme Chronobiology at the IX Symposium of Psychobiology.

Publication