Research
Molecular and cellular and systems mechanisms of learning and memory
Appointments
- Distinguished Professor– Neurobiology, Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology
- Director–Integrative Center for Learning and Memory
- Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity
- Brain Research Institute
- Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology GPB Home Area
- Neuroscience GPB Home Area
Biography
The Silva laboratory is studying the biology of learning and memory. They are interested in the molecular, cellular and circuit processes that underlie the allocation, encoding and storage of information. To accomplish this they are using a variety of techniques including sophisticated molecular and genetic approaches, optical physiology, optogenetics, in vivo imaging and behavioral analysis.
Silva and colleagues have also studied the impact of these mechanisms in animal models of cognitive disorders, including intellectual disabilities. Based on these mechanistic studies, they have developed treatments for Neurofibromatosis type I and Tuberous Sclerosis, that are currently being tested in clinical trials.
The Silva laboratory is also developing bioinformatic strategies for tracking and planning experiments (researchmaps.org).
Publications
- Lin, J, De Silva, AP, Falster, M, Dobbins, T, Chen, Y, Zhang, Z et al.. Addressing missing data in real-world administrative health datasets. Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2026; :. doi: 10.1093/eurjcn/zvag018. PubMed PMID:41554108 .
- D'Oliveira, KA, Glanzmann, N, da Silva, AD, Bruzeguini, CET, Ribeiro, MA, Carnero Canales, CS et al.. Selective Copper(II) Complexes against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ACS Omega. 2026;11 (1):2114-2127. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.5c10934. PubMed PMID:41552513 PubMed Central PMC12809329.
- Sánchez-Mendiola, M, Anakin, M, Findyartini, A, Levine, R, Da Silva, A, Vakani, FS et al.. Applied insights for using Generative Artificial Intelligence in Faculty Development in Health Professions Education. MedEdPublish (2016). 2025;15 :279. doi: 10.12688/mep.21403.1. PubMed PMID:41552409 PubMed Central PMC12811717.
- Paleo-López, R, Ugarte, CS, Stuardo, CJ, Silva, AX, Napolitano, C. Human landscape disturbance and wildlife gut microbiota: global knowledge gaps. PeerJ. 2026;14 :e20545. doi: 10.7717/peerj.20545. PubMed PMID:41551452 PubMed Central PMC12805913.
- Kallavus, T, Soonvald, L, Callewaert, I, Silva, AI, Ávila Dos Santos, E, Vilumets, S et al.. Synthetic polymer nanocarrier enhances dsRNA stability but not RNAi efficacy in Brassicogethes aeneus. Pest Manag Sci. 2026; :. doi: 10.1002/ps.70516. PubMed PMID:41549840 .