Student Spotlight: Lia Calcines-Rodríguez
Lia Calcines-Rodríguez, a PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program, works in the lab of M. Kerry O’Banion, MD, PhD. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Rochester, majoring in Neuroscience. During that time, she worked in the labs of David Dodell-Feder, PhD, and Steve Goldman, MD, PhD. The research and collaborative environment of URochester was so welcoming that she decided to pursue her PhD at the School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Today, her research investigates sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease. She recently led a study that found the brain’s immune cells, called microglia, respond differently in male and female Alzheimer’s model mice, potentially driving more damage in females, a population that accounts for two-thirds of cases.
“Many people believe that Alzheimer’s is more prevalent in women because they live longer than men. However, recent evidence shows it is more complex than that and that there is a biological reason beyond the survival bias,” Calcines-Rodríguez said. “For instance, women with Alzheimer’s have more inflammation in the brain compared to men of the same age, and this is also seen in preclinical models.”
Her research, published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, also looked at female mice at two hormonally distinct stages of the cycle and found that microglia’s gene expression did not fluctuate, suggesting that hormonal fluctuation does not fully explain the differences. Today, they are transplanting male microglia into the female mouse brain and female microglia into the male Alzheimer’s mouse brain to understand if microglia are inherently different in males and females with Alzheimer’s. “We want to know whether microglia are the culprits behind the sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease or whether they are mere responders to a sex-specific pathology.”
In 2025, she was named the Sarah C. Mangelsdorf and Karl S. Rosengren Presidential Awardee, which celebrates “students who demonstrate both scholarly excellence and leadership potential, particularly through mentoring, interdisciplinary collaboration, and public or science communication.” It is one of many honors she has received for her research and mentorship at URochester.
Calcines-Rodríguez’s path to Neuroscience started with the biology classes she began taking after moving from Cuba to London with her family at the age of 12. “I remember reading about the organelles in the cell in the biology textbook and thinking that the authors had a good imagination. To me, it seemed impossible that we could see a cell and its components under a microscope. From that moment, my fascination with biology and human behavior began, for which many years later I decided to pursue a degree in Neuroscience.”
