Natalia Pessoa Rocha

Dr. Rocha has a Pharm.D. degree with a professional qualification in Industrial Pharmacy (2008), a M.S. in Neuroscience (2011), and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences: Physiology and Pharmacology (2014). All her degrees were obtained in the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG, Brazil), and part of her Ph.D was completed at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Leuven, Belgium (2013-2014). She completed a postdoctoral Fellowship at UFMG (2015) and another one at the Neuropsychiatry Program at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth, 2016-2019). Currently, Dr. Rocha is an Assistant Professor at The Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's disease and Related Brain Disorders (Department of Neurology, UTHealth), where she is dedicated to studying biological mechanisms associated with risk factors for Alzheimer?s disease and its related dementias. She has experience in Neuroscience, acting mainly on the following topics: immunosenescence, neuroinflammation, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, aging, and cytokines.

Possui graduação em Farmácia - Habilitação em Farmácia Industrial pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG, 2008), mestrado em Neurociências pela UFMG (2011) e doutorado em Fisiologia e Farmacologia pela UFMG (2014) com período colaborativo na Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, em Leuven, Bélgica (2013-2014). Fez pós-doutorado na Faculdade de Medicina da UFMG (2015) e no programa de Neuropsiquiatria da University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth, 2016-2019). Atualmente é Professora Assistente (Assistant Professor) no Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's disease and Related Brain Disorders (Department of Neurology, UTHealth), onde desenvolve pesquisas sobre os mecanismos biológicos associados a fatores de risco para a doença de Alzheimer e demências associadas. Tem experiência na área de Neurociências, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: imunossenescência, neuroinflamação, doença de Alzheimer, doença de Parkinson, doença de Huntington, envelhecimento e citocinas.