Brenda Avila

Research Specialist at the Yassa lab Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior

Biography

Brenda Avila, B.S., is an Research Specialist at the Yassa lab (Translational Neuroscience Laboratory) in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. Her current focus is working on the Biomarker Exploration in Aging, Cognition and Neurodegeneration (BEACoN) project by coordinating and administering research participant visits in English and Spanish. She has previous experience working as a Research Specialist at the Xu lab for Neural Circuits specializing in non-canonical neural circuits in Alzheimer’s Disease mouse brain models. In the future, she looks forward to completing an MD/PhD degree with a focus on neurological disorders.

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Education

B.S. in Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 2021
A.S. in Chemistry, Irvine Valley College, 2018

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Distinctions

UCI Excellence in Research in the Biological Sciences Award for Journal Publication and Poster, 2021
Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Fellowship Grant, 2021
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Fellowship Grant, 2020
University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) Promise Award, 2019
Endowed Osher Scholarship, 2017
Dean's List, 2015-2021

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Areas of Expertise

Translational Neuroscience
Hippocampal Neural Circuits
Learning and Memory Research
Neuropsychological Assessments
Research Coordination

Recent Publications

Lin, X., Cyrus, N., Avila, B., Holmes, T. C., Xu, X., “Hippocampal CA3 inhibitory neurons receive extensive noncanonical synaptic inputs from CA1 and subicular complex” (opens in new tab), Journal of Comparative Neurology, vol. 531, pp. 1333–1347, 2023.
Avila, B., “Modified Rabies Virus Method Allows for the Tracing of Non-canonical Ventral CA3 Hippocampus Region Circuits”, Journal of Undergraduate Research in the Biological Sciences, 2021.
Lin, X., Amalraj, M., Blanton, C., Avila, B., Holmes, T. C., Nitz, D. A., Xu, X., “Noncanonical Projections to the Hippocampal CA3 Regulate Spatial Learning and Memory by Modulating the Feedforward Hippocampal Trisynaptic Pathway” (opens in new tab), PLoS biology, vol. 19, no. 12, pp. e3001127, 2021.

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Contact Information

Email: avilab2@uci.edu

Phone: (949) 824-0904

Address: 1400 Biological Sciences III

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This profile was created with the help of AI.

Last updated on 5/23/2026.