Nathalia Lopes Ferreira

Nathalia Ferreira is a neuroscience researcher whose work focuses on how early-life stress influences neural circuits controlling emotion, pain, and metabolism. At Yale University, she investigates hypothalamic and limbic activation during maternal separation using advanced neuroanatomical and molecular tools, including RNAscope, viral tracing, and whole-brain imaging.

Her previous studies at UNIFESP explored how leptin and β-endorphin signaling in POMC neurons regulate stress and metabolic adaptation, contributing to publications in Scientific Reports and Communications Biology. Building upon this translational perspective, Nathalia is seeking to begin her PhD training at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein Brain Institute (São Paulo, Brazil), focusing on neuroimmunological mechanisms in autoimmune encephalitis. Her goal is to integrate neuroendocrine and neuroimmune approaches to understand how stress and inflammation shape brain development and vulnerability to disease.