Alejandro Rondón Ortiz, Biology PhD candidate of the Emili Lab, was recently awarded a Tau Leadership Award. The Rainwater Tau Leadership Fellows is funded by the Rainwater Charitable Foundation. This foundation invests in early-career scientist to promote the next generation of leaders in neurodegenerative disease research and beyond.
“These early-career leaders in research will know their value goes beyond the bench, and that their skills and expertise can make an impact on their community and inspire future scientists”
– Dr. Amy Rommel, Scientific Program Director for the Rainwater Charitable Foundation
Alejandro was selected as a winner because of his scientific mentorship and community outreach. In particular, Alejandro mentors women and members from underrepresented groups to motivate and to support their careers in STEM.
Alejandro is conducting research in both the Center for Network Systems Biology and the Laboratory of Neurodegeneration from Boston University (led by Andrew Emili and Benjamin Wolozin, respectively). He holds a PharmD degree from Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria, Peru, and an MS in Pharmacology from MCPHS University, Boston.
Alejandro is interested in neurodegenerative disorders (particularly in tauopathies). Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative disorders that have a common denominator: the misfolding of Tau protein (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, cortico-basal degeneration, and others). At Boston University, he uses multidisciplinary approaches to explore tauopathies at the molecular level, and hopes his findings will contribute to a better understanding of these neurodegenerative disorders.
Congratulations, Alejandro!