Samara Vilca Receives NIH D-SPAN Award For Independent Neuroscience Research
Date Posted: Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Congratulations to Samara Vilca, PhD, for winning the National Institutes of Health Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award for the second phase of her research..
Dr. Vilca's work involves examining the immune cells of the central nervous system called microglia and how they change during opioid use disorder.
She describes her work with Ryan Logan, PhD, professor of psychiatry and neurobiology UMass Psychiatry, on circadian rhythms, the possibiltity of alleviating symptoms of Opioid Use Disorder and the wonderful mentorship she receives at UMass Chan Medical School in this story.