Erika Calvo-Ochoa

Dr. Erika Calvo-Ochoa is an Assistant Professor of Biology and Neuroscience at Hope College, where she joined in 2020. She specializes in molecular neuroscience, focusing on mechanisms of brain plasticity loss/recovery after damage/disease, particularly using zebrafish models. Her research emphasizes neurodegeneration, regeneration, and inflammation, with a focus on olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease.

Education: NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Western Michigan University (2020), Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UNAM (2015), B.Sc. in Biomedical Research from UNAM (2008). Awards include the Towsley Research Scholar (2024), BRAINS Fellowship (2022), and NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship (2018). She leads grants totaling over $700,000, including NSF-funded work on neural regeneration mechanisms in zebrafish.

Research interests span molecular/cellular neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases, and regenerative biology. Recent work highlights zebrafish models to study olfactory recovery post-injury and Parkinson’s-related degeneration. She actively mentors undergraduates in lab and classroom settings, fostering enthusiasm for scientific discovery.

Awards and grants reflect her contributions to understanding neural repair mechanisms. She is part of Hope College’s Neuroscience Program and collaborates internationally, including with Japan’s RIKEN Brain Science Institute. Outside academia, she enjoys family time, hiking, and scientific illustration.