Alejandra Mendoza joins Scripps Research faculty to unravel the neuro-immune connection

Mendoza’s research focuses on the interwoven circuits that drive inflammation, pain and immunological diseases.

July 12, 2022

LA JOLLA, CA— Alejandra Mendoza, PhD, will join Scripps Research as an assistant professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology to uncover the ways the immune and nervous systems interact to maintain homeostasis in the body.

“Innovation is a cornerstone of Scripps Research, and Mendoza’s multifaceted work is an illustration of the transformative science that our institute is built on,” says Jamie Williamson, PhD, executive vice president of Research and Academic Affairs at Scripps Research. “I look forward to seeing the ways her research leads to new breakthroughs across immunology, neuroscience and beyond.”

At Scripps Research, Mendoza’s lab will illuminate the diverse cellular circuits that form in tissues to ultimately reveal the interconnected mechanisms that drive inflammation. Specifically, her work focuses on barrier tissues, which are the areas of the body (like the skin or gastrointestinal tract) that interface with the outside world. These barrier tissues are constantly exposed to a myriad of stimuli across temperature, mechanical forces, tissue damage, pathogens, commensal microbes and countless others. Extensive communication between the nervous and immune systems is thus essential for the body to effectively—and correctly—respond to these many different inputs.

Using imaging, genetic targeting and gene expression analysis, Mendoza is bringing to light these molecular mechanisms within barrier tissues. Mendoza notes that her research could reveal novel therapeutic targets directed not only at immune cells and pathways, but also at mechanisms that involve the nervous system and the epithelial barrier. These discoveries could be applied to treating a spectrum of immunologically chronic conditions such as inflammatory bowel diseases, asthma or psoriasis, as well as improving our understanding of complicated sensations like pain.   

“In addition to being known as one of the most respected institutions in the world, Scripps Research is also uniquely collaborative across its many departments,” Mendoza says. “This exciting scientific environment is ideal for my interdisciplinary research that spans immunology, neuroscience and microbiology, and even larger than that, for providing new scientific avenues in the future.”

Mendoza’s previous research focused on how different cell types interact to shape immunity, including her postdoctoral fellowship studies conducted in the laboratory of Alexander Rudensky at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. While there, she used genetic tools and imaging analysis techniques to understand how circuits form across different cell types to promote and restrain immune responses. Before that, Mendoza completed her PhD in basic medical science from New York University in the laboratory of Susan Schwab, where she studied how lymphatic endothelial cells promote the trafficking and survival of naïve T cells. She received a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Miami.

Throughout her studies, Mendoza has received numerous awards, including the Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Cancer Research Institute, the Basic and Translational Immunology Postdoctoral Award from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; multiple National Research Service Awards from both Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and New York University School of Medicine; and the Henry King Scholarship from the University of Miami.

For more information, contact press@scripps.edu See More News