Genetic epilepsies associated to ion channel dysfunction; basic research on mechanisms of synaptic transmission including ion channels, receptors, synaptic vesicles and other synaptic proteins; basic research on pathologies, including genetic pathologies, associated with disruption of synaptic transmission; intracellular synaptic signaling as related to synaptic transmission mechanisms; metabolism in synaptic function
Additional Keywords: Synaptic transmission, synaptic function, channelopathies, genetic epilepsies
Heidi Y. Matos Galicia, is a Program Director in the Channels, Synapses and Circuits Cluster at NINDS. Dr. Matos had been a Health Program Specialist in the CSC cluster since March of 2021. 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. Her graduate research focused on developmental mechanisms and plasticity of synapse function that leads to the excitation/inhibition imbalance in an animal model of epilepsy. 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. She cares about expanding access to scientific research in order to advance biomedical innovation, particularly in the neuroscience space.