Allesandra Iadipaolo

Graduate Student

Advisor

Research Area

Cognition, Perception, and Cognitive Neuroscience

Biography

Allesandra received her B.A. in Psychology and Art from Wayne State University in 2016, where she then worked for over seven years as a clinical research coordinator in Dr. Christine Rabinak’s Translational Neuropsychopharmacology (TNP2) Lab. In the TNP2 lab, Allesandra led several neuroimaging studies investigating effects of trauma-exposure, stress, and resilience on the developing brain in addition to clinical trials testing novel treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. Allesandra’s extensive experience in conducting clinical interviews and assessments with hundreds of trauma-exposed women, most with diagnoses of anxiety, depression, and/or PTSD, has inspired her passion for issues surrounding women's brain and emotional health.

Research

Allesandra is broadly interested in understanding neurobiological mechanisms underlying resilience and risk of stress- and mood-related disorders in women, especially those from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. In her research, Allesandra plans to use neuroimaging methods to investigate the role of sex steroid hormones in the development and maintenance of sex-biased health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. Allesandra is particularly interested in studying the effects of endometriosis- an inflammatory disease hallmarked by chronic pelvic pain- and its treatment on the brain, cognition, and emotional health.