Closeup of Elena Blánco-Surez

Elena Blanco-Suárez, Ph.D.

Pronouns: she, her, hers, ella

Assistant Professor of Biology

College of Sciences
Department of Biology
Cell and Molecular Biology

San Diego

Office Hours

By Appointment

Location
EIS
5500 Campanile Dr
San Diego, CA 92182
Mail Code
[1234]
Fax
[619-594-####]
Accounts

Areas of Expertise

Neurobiology, Glia Biology, Astrocyte-neuron Interactions in Health and Disease, Cell and Molecular Biology

Student Opportunities

  1. [Opportunity 1]
  2. [Opportunity 2]

Bio

I am a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Neurobiologist by training. Our laboratory uses preclinical models of stroke and other neurological disorders to investigate how astrocytes, non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system, regulate neuronal function in health and disease in the mammalian brain.

Details

Courses
  1. [COURSE 1 – Title]
  2. [COURSE 2 – Title]
  3. [COURSE 3 – Title]
Education
  1. Ph.D. in Biochemistry
    University of Bristol. Bristol, UK
  2. M.S. in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biomedicine
    Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Madrid, Spain
  3. Erasmus program fellow, Biology
    Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
  4. B.S. in Biology
    Universidad de Oviedo. Asturias, Spain
Publications
  1. Boyle BR, Berghella AP, Blanco-Suarez E. Astrocyte Regulation of Neuronal Function and Survival in Stroke Pathophysiology. Adv Neurobiol. 2024;39:233-267. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-64839-7_10. PMID: 39190078.
  2. Gomez-Galvez Y, Gupta M, Kaur M, Fusco S, Podda MV, Grassi C, Srivastava AK, Iacovitti L, Blanco- Suarez E. Recovery after human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) treatment in post-MCAO rats requires repeated handling. PLoS One. 2024 Oct 21;19(10):e0312298. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312298. PMID: 39432503.
  3. Collyer E, Boyle BR, Gomez-Galvez Y, Iacovitti L, Blanco- Suarez E. Absence of chordin-like 1 aids motor recovery in a mouse model of stroke. Exp Neurol. 2023 Dec;370:114548. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2023.114548. Epub 2023 Sep 26. PMID: 37769794.
  4. Collyer E, Blanco- Suarez E. Astrocytes in stroke-induced neurodegeneration: a timeline. Front Mol Med. 2023 Sep 7;3:1240862. doi: 10.3389/fmmed.2023.1240862. PMID: 39086680; PMCID: PMC11285566.
  5. Blanco- Suarez E*, Allen NJ*. Astrocyte-secreted chordin-like 1 regulates spine density after ischemic injury. Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 9;12(1):4176. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-08031-4. PMID: 35264691.
  6. Farhy-Tselnicker I, Boisvert MM, Liu H, Dowling C, Erikson GA, Blanco- Suarez E, Farhy C, Shokhirev MN, Ecker JR, Allen NJ. Activity-dependent modulation of synapse-regulating genes in astrocytes. Elife. 2021 Sep 8;10:e70514. doi: 10.7554/eLife.70514. PMID: 34494546.
  7. Blanco- Suarez E., Liu T, Kopelevich A, Allen NJ. Astrocyte-secreted Chrdl1 drives synapse maturation and limits plasticity by increasing synaptic GluA2 AMPARs. Neuron. 2018 Dec 5;100(5):1116- 1132.e13. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.09.043. Epub 2018 Oct 18. PMID: 30344043; PMCID: PMC6382071.
  8. Zuidema JM, Kumeria T, Kim D, Kang J, Wang J, Hollett G, Zhang X, Roberts DS, Chan N, Dowling C, Blanco- Suarez E., Allen NJ, Tuszynski MH, Sailor MJ. Oriented Nanofibrous Polymer Scaffolds Containing Protein-Loaded Porous Silicon Generated by Spray Nebulization. Adv Mater. 2018 Mar;30(12):e1706785. doi: 10.1002/adma.201706785. Epub 2018 Jan 24. PMID: 29363828; PMCID: PMC6475500.
  9. Blanco- Suarez E.*, Caldwell AL*, & Allen NJ. Role of astrocyte-synapse interactions in CNS disorders. J Physiol. 2017 Mar 15;595(6):1903-1916. doi: 10.1113/JP270988. Epub 2016 Aug 8. PMID: 27381164; PMCID: PMC5350444.
  10. Blanco- Suarez E., Fiuza M, Liu X, Chakkarapani E, & Hanley JG. Differential Tiam1/Rac1 Activation in Hippocampal and Cortical Neurons Mediates Differential Spine Shrinkage in Response to Oxygen/Glucose Deprivation. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2014 Dec;34(12):1898-906. doi: 10.1038/jcbfm.2014.158. Epub 2014 Sep 24. PMID: 25248834; PMCID: PMC4269742.
  11. Blanco- Suarez E., Hanley JG. Distinct Subunit-specific α-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4- isoxazolepropionic Acid (AMPA) Receptor Trafficking Mechanisms in Cultured Cortical and Hippocampal Neurons in Response to Oxygen and Glucose Deprivation. J Biol Chem. 2014 Feb 21;289(8):4644-51. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M113.533182. Epub 2014 Jan 8. PMID: 24403083; PMCID: PMC3931026.
  12. Rocca D*, Amici M*, Antoniou A*, Blanco- Suarez E., Halemani N, Murk K, McGarvey J, Jaafari N, Mellor JR, Collingridge GL, Hanley, JG. (2013). The Small GTPase Arf1 Modulates Arp2/3-Mediated Actin Polymerization via PICK1 to Regulate Synaptic Plasticity. Neuron. 2013 Jul 24;79(2):293-307. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2013.05.003. PMID: 23889934; PMCID: PMC3725416.
  13. Murk K, Blanco- Suarez E., Cockbill LM, Banks P, & Hanley JG. (2013). The antagonistic modulation of Arp2/3 activity by N-WASP, WAVE2 and PICK1 defines dynamic changes in astrocyte morphology. J Cell Sci. 2013 Sep 1;126(Pt 17):3873-83. doi: 10.1242/jcs.125146. Epub 2013 Jul 10. PMID: 23843614; PMCID: PMC3757329.
  14. Gomez-Galvez Y, Gupta M, Kaur M, Fusco S, Podda MV, Grassi C, Srivastava A, Iacovitti L, Blanco- Suarez E. Recovery after human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) treatment in post-MCAO rats requires handling associated with repeated behavioral testing. BioRxiv. 2024:2024.06.19.599750. doi:10.1101/2024.06.19.599750
  15. Blanco- Suarez E., Allen NJ. Astrocyte-secreted Chordin like 1 regulates spine density after ischemic stroke. BioRxiv 2020.12.19.423621; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.19.423621
  16. Farhy-Tselnicker I, Boisvert MM, Liu H, Dowling C, Erikson GA, Blanco- Suarez E., Farhy C, Shokhirev M, Ecker JR, Allen NJ. Activity-Dependent Modulation of Synapse-Regulating Genes in Astrocytes. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.30.424365
  17. Boyle BR, Berghella AP, Blanco- Suarez E. Astrocyte Regulation of Neuronal Function and Survival in Stroke Pathophysiology. Adv Neurobiol. 2024;39:233-267. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031- 64839-7_10. PMID: 39190078.
  18. Blanco- Suarez E. Photothrombotic Model to Create an Infarct in the Hippocampus. Methods Mol Biol. 2023;2616:29-38. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2926-0_4. PMID: 36715925.
Presentations
  1. 2025 Symposium: AMPA receptors in health and disease. ISN-ASN meeting (International Society for Neurochemistry and American Society for Neurochemistry). New York, NY.
  2. 2025 Astrocyte Café. Virtual.
  3. 2025 Symposium: Leveraging glia to improve CNS repair. Brain and Brain PET 2025, ISCBFM. Seoul, South Korea.
  4. 2025 Education Day. Brain and Brain PET 2025, ISCBFM. Seoul, South Korea.
  5. 2025 Stroke Translational Research Advancement Workshop (STRAW). University of Kentucky. Lexington, KY.
  6. 2025 Seminar Series, Department of Biological Sciences. University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), MD.
  7. 2025 Transformational & Innovative Project Panel Presentations. Bugher Foundation Collaborative Symposium. Los Angeles, CA.
  8. 2025 Medical School Seminar series. Universidad Complutense. Madrid, Spain.
  9. 2024 BrainBridge Summit: A Confluence of Medicine and Research in Brain Diseases. Thomas Jefferson University. Philadelphia, PA.
  10. 2024 MD/PhD Retreat. Thomas Jefferson University. Philadelphia, PA.
  11. 2024 San Diego Biomedical Research Institute Seminar series. La Jolla, CA.
  12. 2024 9th Annual Shriners-Temple Symposium on Neural Repair. Temple University. Philadelphia, PA.
  13. 2024 Plenary Session 5: Glial Regulation of CNS Function and Dysfunction. Spring Brain Conference. Sedona, AZ.
  14. 2024 V Congreso de Neurobiología de la Sociedad Mexicana de Bioquímica (5th Neurobiology Meeting of the Mexican Society for Biochemistry). Morelia, Mexico.
  15. 2024 Cooper Medical School Seminar Series. Rowan University. Camden, NJ.
  16. 2024 Biology Department Seminar Series. University of Virginia. Charlottesville, VA.
  17. 2023 Gliadelphia. 148th Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association (ANA) Ancillary Event. Philadelphia, PA.
  18. 2023 Symposium: New Mechanisms and Therapies for Stroke-Related Brain Injuries. ASN annual meeting. Lexington, KY.
  19. 2023 Gordon Research Conference. Glial Biology: Functional Interactions among Glia and Neurons. Ventura, CA.
  20. 2023 Seminar Series. Instituto Cajal. Madrid, Spain.
  21. 2022 Center for Brain Health Lecture Series. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Shreveport, LA.
  22. 2022 Minisymposium: Diverse Functional Aspects of Astrocyte-Neuron Interactions in Health and Disease. SfN Neuroscience 2022. Society for Neuroscience. San Diego, CA.
  23. 2022 Flash Presentation. Brain and Brain PET meeting, ISCBFM. Glasgow, UK.
  24. 2022 Neuroimmunology Seminar Series. Center for Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology (CTCN). Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). New York, NY.
  25. 2022 Dept. Pharmacology Seminar Series. University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. Denver, CO.
  26. 2022 Symposium: Astrocytes in stroke: blocking the bad and boosting the good to promote recovery. ASN annual meeting. Roanoke, VA.
  27. 2022 Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy Seminar series. Drexel University. Philadelphia, PA.
  28. 2021 Penn Neuroscience Public Lecture series. University of Pennsylvania, PA.
  29. 2021 Biology Department seminar series. Drexel University. Philadelphia, PA.
  30. 2021 Glia Journal Club. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)/University of Pennsylvania.
  31. 2020 Glia Group. Washington University in St. Louis.
  32. 2020 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Neurodegeneration Challenge Network 2020 Annual Meeting.
  33. 2019 Keystone Symposia. Neural Environment in Disease: Glial Responses and Neuroinflammation. Keystone, CO.
  34. 2018 Molecular Biology Institute Seminar Series. San Diego State University. San Diego, CA.
  35. 2018 Glia in Health & Disease, Cold Spring Harbor Meeting. Cold Spring Harbor, NY.
  36. 2018 Office for Training, Research and Education in the Sciences (OTRES) Seminar Series. California State University of San Marcos. San Marcos, CA.
  37. 2018 American Society for Neurochemistry (ASN) Annual Meeting 2018. Riverside, CA.
  38. 2024–Present Gliadelphia Fall Symposium. Philadelphia, PA.
  39. 2024–Present Gliadelphia Spring Salon. Philadelphia, PA.
  40. 2023 Gliadelphia. 148th Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association (ANA) Ancillary Event. Philadelphia, PA.
  41. 2023 American Society for Neurochemistry (ASN) annual meeting. Lexington, KY.
  42. 2021 Challenging Neurodegeneration Symposium. La Jolla, CA.
  43. 2025 Symposium: AMPA receptors in health and disease. ISN-ASN meeting. New York, NY.
  44. 2025 Symposium: Leveraging glia to improve CNS repair. Brain and Brain PET 2025. Seoul, South Korea.
  45. 2023 Colloquium: Glial influence in neurodegeneration: A focus on non-cell autonomous toxicity. ASN annual meeting. Lexington, KY.
  46. 2022 Minisymposium: Diverse Functional Aspects of Astrocyte-Neuron Interactions in Health and Disease. SfN Neuroscience 2022. San Diego, CA.
  47. 2022 Symposium: Astrocytes in stroke: blocking the bad and boosting the good to promote recovery. ASN annual meeting. Roanoke, VA.
  48. 2020 Astroglia Lightning Presentation Round at AAIC (Alzheimer’s Association International Conference) Neuroscience Next.
Service
  1. [A]
  2. [B]
  3. [C]
Grants
  1. Collaborative Pairs (Cycle 2). Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) (2024-2025)
  2. Innovative Project Award . American Heart Association (2023-2025)
  3. Career Development Award. American Heart Association (2022-2025)
Clinical Trials
  1. [A]
  2. [B]
  3. [C]
Awards & Honors
  1. Member of the Stroke Early Career committee of American Heart Association.(2024-2026)
  2. Elected Council member. American Society for Neurochemistry (ASN). (2023-2027)
  3. AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science. Finalist. Named by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). (2021)
  4. Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Community Project. Awarded by the CZI.(2019)
  5. Keystone Symposia Future of Science Fund Scholarship. Awarded by Keystone Symposia organizing committee.(2019)
  6. Next Generation Award (Junior Faculty Level). Awarded by Society for Neuroscience. (2018)
  7. Catharina Foundation Postdoctoral fellowship. Awarded by Catharina Foundation.(2017)
  8. SRF Travel award. Awarded by Society of Research Fellows at Salk Institute.(2017)
  9. New Frontiers Travel Award. Awarded by Stavros Niarchos Foundation.(2016)
  10. Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine (HCGM) Postdoctoral fellowship. Awarded by Helmsley Charitable Trust.(2015)
  11. Paper of the Week. Awarded by Journal of Biological Chemistry.(2014)
  12. Marie Curie Pre-doctoral Fellow, SyMBaD program. Awarded by Initial Training Networks (ITN) Marie Curie Actions FP7.(2010)
  13. Cicerone Internship. Awarded by National Centre for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC).(2009)
  14. Erasmus Programme Scholarship. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Awarded by the European Union.(2007)
  15. Premio Extraordinario de Bachillerato. Awarded by the Education and Science Council of Principality of Asturias (Spain). (2004)
Patents & Copyrights
  1. [A]
  2. [B]
  3. [C]
Media
  1. [A]
  2. [B]
  3. [C]
Fun Facts
  1. [A]
  2. [B]
  3. [C]