Dr. Javier Allende Labstida Post doctoral fellow

Javier has been been part of Sujatha Kannan’s Lab since May 2023 where he has worked to develop and optimize a novel neonatal and pediatric closed head injury model in rabbits using the CHIMERA system, and a post-traumatic model of depression in rats. Javier has also contributed in multiple projects understanding the cellular bio-distribution of dendrimer-conjugates in diverse models of disease (Cerebral Palsy in rabbits, Status epilepticus, Rett syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, stress induced depression, neuropathic pain, atherosclerosis and obesity, Meningeal tuberculosis and Intracerebral hemorrhage). He is currently testing dendrimer conjugates for the treatment of inflammatory pain using the Paw edema model in rats.

Javier grew up in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and earned his MD with a research concentration from Universidad de Monterrey in 2010, where he was recognized for high-performance leadership. He conducted early clinical research on obesity and iron absorption and served on UDEM’s Research and Ethics Committee. In 2019, he completed a dual PhD in Basic Biomedical Sciences and an MPH in Epidemiology at UTMB, where he developed and optimized a closed-skull impact acceleration TBI model and trained extensively in pain, cognition, and calcium-imaging methodologies. As a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins, he studied how impaired fatty acid oxidation affects neurogenesis after TBI and later contributed to the Translational Outcomes Project in Neurotrauma optimizing a clinically relevant rotational-acceleration injury model in rats. His work spans biomechanics, behavioral neuroscience, imaging, and translational neurotrauma research.