Irala Lab Team

Dr. Dolores Irala earned her PhD from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she also completed a short postdoctoral stay before continuing her postdoctoral research at Duke University. Dr. Irala leads a laboratory focused on uncovering the cellular and molecular mechanisms of astrocyte-inhibitory neuron communication during brain development. Her pioneering postdoctoral work identified the first astrocyte-secreted protein that specifically regulates somatostatin+ inhibitory synapse formation and function, revealing a novel circuit-specific mechanism of synaptic development. 

Dr. Irala is an Assistant Member in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and is affiliated with the Center for Pediatric Neurological Disease Research within the Pediatric Translational Neuroscience Initiative (PTNI) at St. Jude. Her research integrates expertise in both neuronal and glial biology to decipher how astrocytes influence the connectivity of diverse inhibitory neuron subtypes. By characterizing astrocyte-induced signaling pathways and their roles in establishing synaptic balance, her work aims to advance therapeutic strategies for restoring inhibitory circuitry in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.

Affiliations