Diara Santiago Gonzalez, PhD

Diara joined the Department of Pathology as the Electron Microscopy Manager for the Renal Pathology Laboratory. In this role, she will oversee the clinical renal pathology team, leveraging her extensive expertise in electron microscopy to support and advance our diagnostic capabilities.

Diara has a strong background in neuroscience and pharmacology, with significant contributions to advancing treatments for neurological disorders. Her experience includes leading innovative research initiatives and collaborating across multidisciplinary teams. She has pioneered work in understanding myelin and glial cell biology through advanced methodologies in molecular biology, neuroscience, histology, pharmacology, and microscopy.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Diara earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. She then completed her Ph.D. in Pharmacology at the University at Buffalo, where her research focused on therapeutic strategies for demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, such as Multiple Sclerosis. Following her doctorate, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Myelin and Glia Exploration, expanding her research into both central and peripheral nervous systems, specifically looking at the role of calcium channels and iron metabolism.

Before joining Yale, Diara served as a Senior Scientist at Convelo Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company based in Cleveland, OH. There, she led efforts across the Biology, In Vivo, Efficacy and Histology teams, while closely collaborating with the Pharmacology group. Her work focused on developing and testing novel small-molecule therapeutics aimed at promoting remyelination in animal models of demyelination.