Michele Alves is a researcher in the Otero Lab, where she studies how the immune system and nervous system work together to control breathing and brain function in both healthy individuals and those with disease. Her research aims to better understand how changes in these systems contribute to neurological disorders and identify new opportunities for treatment.
Alves completed postdoctoral training at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where she studied how the brain controls breathing during early life, as well as the effects of metabolism and aging on brain function. She also completed a research fellowship through the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education and the German Academic Exchange Service at the University of Potsdam in Germany.
Her research has been recognized by the American Society for Investigative Pathobiology with multiple awards throughout her career.
Areas of Expertise
- Neuroinflammation
- Neuroimmune interactions
- Neonatal sepsis
- Neural control of breathing
- Translational neuroscience
Research Interests
- Neonatal immunity
- Inflammation
- Neonatal sepsis
- Respiratory chemoreflexes
- Neuronal transmission
- Glia activation
- IL6 pathway
- R programming
- Machine learning
See research publications and more on FIU Discovery.
Honors & Awards
- Dani and Erik Zander Junior Faculty Scholar Award, American Society for Investigative Pathobiology (ASIP), 2026
- Experimental Pathologist-in-Training Merit Award, ASIP, 2024
- Marion and Lawrence Muller-Neurodegenerative Research, ASIP, 2023
- A.D. Sobel Trainee Scholar Award, ASIP, 2022
- Trainee Scholar Award, ASIP, 2021
- Pathobiology for Investigators, Students, and Academicians Bronze Award, ASIP, 2020
- EB Histochemical Society-Sponsored Trainee Travel Award, ASIP, 2018
- PROBRAL Doctorate Fellowship by DAAD, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst and CAPES, 2012
Education
- Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, BR 2016
- MS, Biomedical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, BR 2012
- BSc, Kinesiology with a Teacher Education/PE concentration, Sao Paulo, BR 2004