Maura Boldrini

Maura Boldrini is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Quantitative Brain Biology (Brain QUANT) Institute at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She leads the Human Neurobiology laboratory within the Department of Psychiatry at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her research focuses on neurogenesis, neuroinflammation, and the molecular mechanisms underlying depression, suicide, and brain aging. She is affiliated with the Center for Computing Systems for Data-Driven Science and Health Analytics.

Dr. Boldrini’s lab employs cutting-edge multi-omic technologies (single-cell, spatial transcriptomics, proteomics) to study brain cell function and regulatory networks. Recent work includes investigating neuron regeneration, the impact of stress and neuroinflammation on brain health, and the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on neurobiology. She has pioneered studies demonstrating persistent adult neurogenesis in humans and its implications for mental health and aging.

Her team’s computational methods and large multi-omic datasets are widely used by the scientific community. She mentors predoctoral/postdoctoral fellows in bioengineering and data sciences, emphasizing culturally aware mentoring practices to foster inclusivity and career development.

Key research interests include:

• Neurobiological mechanisms of depression and suicide
• Neurogenesis and brain regeneration
• COVID-19’s impact on neural function
• Multi-omic profiling of brain tissues
• Gene regulatory networks in psychiatric disorders

Publications highlight advancements in understanding transcriptome/epigenome interactions, hippocampal dysfunction in depression, and spatially resolved molecular signatures of brain health.