About Dr. Nella C. Delva
I make science clear, for whoever is in the room.
Neuroscientist, Fulbright Fellow and writer. I've explained the brain to community-college students, to the public and to research teams. The science stays the same; the words change for the person listening.
See for yourself
One idea, three audiences
The question at the heart of my research, explained three ways.
Can inflammation in the body affect depression?
For a student
high school · first-year college
When your body fights an infection, it sends out alarm signals. In some people those alarms stay on for a long time, and the brain hears them too. That can make you feel tired, slow and low, a bit like being sick without the fever.
For a curious reader
the public · patients · families
Depression isn't one illness. For about one in five people, it seems linked to an immune system that stays switched on. A routine blood sample may one day help doctors spot those people and choose treatment better.
For a research team
academic · clinical · biotech
A six-gene whole-blood RNA signature, trained on one cohort and tested unchanged on seven others (779 people), separates MDD from controls at AUC 0.61, above chance in 8 of 8, consistent with an inflammatory subgroup.
My path
Haiti → Florida → Berlin
Where curiosity began.
Biology at Barry University, cancer research at Moffitt, a PhD in biomedical sciences (neuroscience) at FSU, and teaching at Hillsborough Community College.
A Fulbright at the Max Delbrück Center, then founding NeuroPenetrance and mentoring students worldwide.
Have something that needs to be clear?