Marcelo de Oliveira Dietrich, MD, PhD

In our laboratory, we approach biomedical problems through the lens of evolutionary medicine and comparative biology. At present, our research program is organized into three major sub-programs:

Program 1 | Developmental neurobiology and the origins of individual differences in brain health and disease

As part of this research program, our laboratory investigates how infants develop into adults, how experience shapes this maturation process, and how early-life events influence long-term health outcomes. Our goal is to uncover the molecular, cellular, and systems-level mechanisms that underlie the development of physiological, emotional, and behavioral functions in infant mammals.

Program 2 | Body-brain systems and neuroimmune disorders

The overarching goal of this research program is to elucidate the neuroimmune mechanisms underlying food allergies and other neuroimmune disorders.

Program 3 | Mechanisms of suspended mammalian development and aging

Aging is the inverse of early development, marked by the progressive decline of cellular function and an increased vulnerability to disease. Rather than merely mitigating the effects of aging, a transformative approach would be to halt—or even reverse—the cellular aging process itself. In this research program, our goal is to harness the power of comparative medicine to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms that allow mammalian cells to suspend development, metabolism, and aging.