Dr. Erika Calvo-Ochoa is a molecular neuroscientist who joined the Department of Biology and the Neuroscience Program in summer 2020. She is interested in understanding mechanisms of loss and recovery of brain plasticity and function following damage and disease.

Dr. Calvo loves inspiring her students to be enthusiastic about exploring the brain in the classroom and the lab. She is delighted to be part of the growing Neuroscience Program and to continue teaching and mentoring undergraduate student researchers. She loves to instill her love for science and discovery into her students, and to form part of a caring academic community.  

Areas of expertise

Dr. Calvo has a broad training in molecular, cellular, and behavioral neuroscience in diverse animal models. Her expertise focuses on studying molecular and cellular markers of neurodegeneration, loss of plasticity and inflammation following damage and disease.

She currently works with the zebrafish brain, since it exhibits a remarkable degree or plasticity, regeneration and neurogenesis throughout life. With this model, Dr. Calvo explores both neurodegeneration and regeneration mechanisms following brain injury and disease.

Education

• NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Western Michigan University, 2020
• Ph.D., Neuroscience, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2015 
• B.Sc., Biomedical Research, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2008 

Honors and Awards

• Towsley Research Scholar, Hope College, 2024
• BRAINS (Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience) Fellow, University of Washington, 2022
• IBRO-RIKEN CBS Summer Internship Program, Japan: International Brain Research Organization, and RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2019
• Association of Chemosensory Sciences Travel Fellowship, 2019
• National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology, 2018
• Graduate Scholar Achievement Awards. Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2014 and 2015

Grants

• Towsley Research Scholar Fellowship, Hope College: “Investigating adult neural regeneration following injury and disease in zebrafish: implications for olfactory recovery” E, $57,000 
• National Science Foundation (NSF): “BRC-BIO: Unraveling mechanisms of neural regeneration and functional recovery in zebrafish,” $452,935 
• Kenneth Campbell Foundation: “Effects of dopaminergic degeneration in a novel zebrafish model of olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease,” $60,000. 
• Jacob E. Nyenhuis Faculty Development Award, Hope College: “Does hypoxia cause olfactory degeneration and loss in zebrafish?,” $5,000 
• Rising Stars Award, International Brain Research Organization (IBRO): “Studying neural regeneration in zebrafish,” $30,000 
• Kenneth Campbell Foundation, “Establishment of a novel model of retrograde degeneration in zebrafish to study olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease,” $20,000
• National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology: “The role of neurogenesis in the functional recovery and morphological reorganization of the zebrafish olfactory bulb following lesion,” $138,000.00

Selected Publications

• “Diving into the streams and waves of constitutive and regenerative olfactory neurogenesis: Insights from zebrafish,” Cell and Tissue Research, 2020
• “The olfactory system of zebrafish as a model for the study of neurotoxicity and injury: implications for neuroplasticity and disease,” International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2019
• “Palmitic acid stimulates energy metabolism and inhibits insulin/PI3K/AKT signaling in differentiated human neuroblastoma cells: the role of mTOR activation and mitochondrial ROS production,” Neurochemistry International, 2017
• “Cellular and metabolic alterations in the hippocampus caused by insulin signaling dysfunction and its association with cognitive impairment during aging and Alzheimer´s disease. Animal models of study,” Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 2015
• “ANKS1B Gene Product AIDA-1 Controls Hippocampal Synaptic Transmission by Regulating GluN2B Subunit Localization,” Journal of Neuroscience, 2015
• “Short-term high-fat-and-fructose feeding produces insulin signaling alterations, dendritic and synaptic loss and astroglial response in the rat hippocampus,” Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 2014
• “Receptor tyrosine kinases regulate α_1D-adrenoceptor signaling properties: Phosphorylation and desensitization,” The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, 2009

View Dr. Calvo-Ochoa’s Google Scholar profile

Outside the College

Dr. Calvo loves spending time with her family – her husband, Pablo, their children, Emma and Leon, and their beagle, Joy. They enjoy movie nights, hiking, eating out, going to Lake Michigan and traveling abroad. In her free time, Dr. Calvo enjoys spending time with friends, listening to music, drawing scientific illustrations and tweeting. Follow Dr. Calvo on Twitter @erikacalvophd.