Alexandre Alves da Silva

Alexandre Alves da Silva is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine. His research program focuses on elucidating the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which the central nervous system, particularly the melanocortin system pathway, regulates glucose homeostasis and cardiovascular function. Dr. da Silva maintains active collaborations within the Cardiorenal and Metabolic Diseases Research Center and serves as a Sub-Core Leader for the Imaging Core.

Dr. da Silva earned his BS and PhD in Physiology from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. His academic appointments include positions as Instructor (2001-2006), Assistant Professor (2006-2014), and current Assistant Professor (2018-present) at UMMC, with a brief period (2015-2017) as Professor at Brazilian institutions Centro Universitario Barao de Maua and Universidade Estadual de Minas Gerais.

His research interests center on the CNS control of metabolic and cardiovascular function, with particular emphasis on the brain melanocortin system's role in protecting cardiac function after myocardial infarction and maintaining glucose homeostasis in diabetic conditions. His laboratory employs sophisticated techniques including perfused hearts for cardiac metabolic studies, isolated cardiomyocytes for contractility measurements, and genetic mouse/rat models for in vivo physiological studies. Recent work has expanded to investigate the intergenerational effects of parental obesity on offspring cardiometabolic health.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward understanding the neural mechanisms underlying cardiometabolic protection, with increasing focus on sex differences, immunometabolism, and mitochondrial function in cardiac and renal injury. His work bridges basic neuroscience with translational cardiology, aiming to develop novel CNS-targeted therapies for heart failure and diabetes complications.

• 2023 Ad-Hoc grant reviewer, Swiss National Foundation
• 2022 Grant reviewer, NIH Therapeutic Develop and Pre-Clinical Studies
• 2018 Fujifilm-VisualSonics Vevo® Travel Award in Cardiac Imaging
• 2017 Marcos Augusto Award, Centro Universitario Barao de Maua
• 2012-present Fellow of the American Heart Association
• 2007 Excellence in Research Award Bronze Level – UMMC

Dr. da Silva currently serves as Principal Investigator on multiple NIH grants including R01HL163076 'Cardiac protective mechanisms of melanocortin system activation' (2023-2026) and previously led a COBRE Pilot Grant on CNS mechanisms of cardiac protection. His laboratory collaborates extensively within the Cardiorenal and Metabolic Diseases Research Center, contributing to infrastructure for multidisciplinary research on obesity-related diseases. While specific students aren't listed in the provided materials, his research program clearly supports multiple postdoctoral fellows and graduate students involved in his NIH-funded projects.

His laboratory is integrated within the Cardiometabolic and Imaging Core facilities at UMMC, utilizing advanced techniques including perfused heart systems, cardiomyocyte isolation, and in vivo physiological monitoring. The research environment benefits from collaborations with the Cardiorenal and Metabolic Diseases Research Center, providing access to specialized core facilities and multidisciplinary expertise in obesity, cardiovascular, and metabolic research.