Position
Post-bac IRTA Fellow,
Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology Section
Post-bac IRTA Fellow,
Stress and Addiction Neuroscience Unit (NIDA/NIAAA)
Contact
Biomedical Research Center251 Bayview Boulevard
Suite 200
Room 08A406
Baltimore, MD 21224
Email: erika.rispoli@nih.gov
Research Interests
Erika Rispoli joined Dr. Leggio’s lab in July 2026. She graduated with distinction from Duke University in May 2026, earning a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with a minor in Computational Biology.
As an undergraduate, Erika conducted research in the laboratories of Dr. Staci Bilbo and Dr. Cagla Eroglu under the mentorship of graduate student Daniel Quintero and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Trisha Vaidyanathan. Her research examined how prenatal environmental stress, including air pollution and psychosocial stress, affect adolescent neurodevelopment in mice. Specifically, her work focused on the impact of these stressors on neuroimmune signaling pathways that regulate key developmental processes, including microglia-mediated synaptic pruning and extracellular matrix remodeling.
At the NIDA IRP, Erika is jointly mentored by Dr. Leggio and Dr. Leandro Vendruscolo. Erika is contributing to preclinical and translational research aimed at advancing the understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying alcohol use disorder and other substance use disorders, as well as the development of improved prevention and treatment strategies.
