July 2026 – The Parra-Rivas Lab has been awarded a 2026 UMB FIRST Pilot Award to support innovative research on synaptic biology and the mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease. This funding will accelerate our efforts to understand how synaptic dysfunction contributes to neurodegeneration and will provide critical preliminary data to support future extramural funding opportunities. We are grateful to the UM FIRST Program for its support of this work.
July 2026 – Congratulations to Dr. Leonardo Parra-Rivas on being selected as a 2026 CARTI Scholar at UMB. Through the CARTI Basic Science Research Training Track, Dr. Parra-Rivas will join a cohort of investigators receiving advanced training and mentorship aimed at fostering innovative, collaborative, and translational biomedical research.
June 2026 – Dr. Leonardo Parra-Rivas has been selected as a recipient of the IBRO Rising Stars Award, an international award recognizing outstanding early-career neuroscientists and supporting the establishment of innovative, independent research programs.
June 2026 – Our laboratory, in partnership with Dr. Peg McCarthy (UM-MIND) and Dr. David Mintz (Department of Anesthesiology), has been awarded a Research Infrastructure Investment Grant (RIIG) to advance stem cell and brain organoid research at the University of Maryland Baltimore.
June 2026 - We welcome Juan Colberg-Martinez from the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program for his Ph.D. rotation.
April 2026 – Daniela Requena-Gibert has been awarded the Leadership Service Award by the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) San Diego. Congratulations, Daniela!
April 2026 – The Parra-Rivas Lab IACUC protocol has been approved.
March 2026 – The Parra-Rivas Lab officially moves into its new space on the sixth floor of the HSFIII Building. Hooray!
February 2026 – Dr. Parra-Rivas presented at the 2026 Parkinson's Foundation Summit in Atlanta
February 2026 – The Parra-Rivas Lab IBC protocol has been approved. Hooray!
January 2026 – Daniela Requena-Gibert joins the Parra-Rivas Lab as a Lab Manager
December 2025 – Leonardo Parra-Rivas joins the University of Maryland Baltimore, as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and UM-MIND