Maria Alves

Dr. Maria Alves is an Assistant Professor at Erasmus MC's Department of Clinical Genetics. Her research focuses on intestinal innervation, nervous system development, and genetic mechanisms underlying diseases like Hirschsprung disease. She employs zebrafish models and genomic approaches to explore these topics. Alves has contributed to understanding the role of genes like ATP5PO in neurodevelopmental disorders and collaborated on multi-ancestry genome-wide association studies.

Her work integrates molecular biology, cell sorting protocols, and genetic risk prediction. Notable achievements include uncovering links between Down syndrome and enteric nervous system defects, as well as developing optimized protocols for analyzing enteric nervous system cells. Alves has published in journals such as Gastroenterology and EBioMedicine, with a focus on translational discoveries in gastrointestinal diseases.

Her research also addresses glial diversity in gut health/disease and therapeutic avenues for neurodevelopmental disorders. Alves' interdisciplinary approach spans genetics, cell biology, and developmental neuroscience, with implications for both basic science and clinical applications.