Medina de Jesus, Alexandre

Alexandre Medina de Jesus is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. With a D.Sc. in Neuroscience (2000) and postdoctoral training in Neuroscience (2003), he has maintained continuous academic appointments at major institutions since 1999. His career includes tenure at Virginia Commonwealth University (2005-2012) before transitioning to his current role at University of Maryland (2012-present).

• Universidade Santa Ursula, Brazil - B.S., Biology (1990)
• Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - M.Sc., Zoology (1996)
• Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - D.Sc., Neuroscience (2000)
• Virginia Commonwealth University - Postdoctoral Fellowship, Neuroscience (2003)

Dr. Medina specializes in neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). His research explores how early alcohol exposure disrupts neuronal plasticity and multisensory integration, with notable work on cortical visual system development and transcription factor regulation (CREB, SRF, MEF2). He pioneered the ferret FASD model to study sensory processing deficits.

Recent publications focus on cortical layer-specific multisensory integration (2024), visual-tactile circuit microstructure (2018), and CREB phosphorylation requirements for plasticity (2021). His work balances basic neuroscience with clinical translational research, including studies on neonatal hypoxia (2022) and NICU environmental exposures (2020).

• Scientific Awards & Service
  • NIH/NIAAA R01 Grants (AA13023, AA022455)
  • VA Merit Grant I01BX005678
  • President, FASD Study Group (2015-2016)
  • NIH Study Section Member (NAL, 2018-2022)
• Research Themes
  • Neuronal Plasticity Mechanisms
  • Developmental Neurotoxicology
  • Cortical Circuit Organization
  • Translational Neuroscience
  • Multisensory Processing
  • Transcription Factor Regulation