Heidi Y. Matos Galicia, Ph.D.

Heidi Y. Matos Galicia, is a Health Program Specialist in the Channels, Synapses and Circuits Cluster at NINDS. Heidi started her career with a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. She continued her education to better understand behavior and the brain as a biological machine, and obtained her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Universidad Central del Caribe in Bayamón. Heidi then continued her postdoctoral work at Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C. where she studied the development and functional properties of brain circuits associated with social behaviors. Before joining NINDS, she worked with the National Academies as a Program Officer managing projects related to scientific rigor and development of ontologies for behavioral science research. Additionally, she  volunteers with several non-profit organizations to teach and provide mentorship to students from underrepresented backgrounds in general science knowledge, laboratory techniques, and opportunities in STEM careers.