Melanie Barbini, an MD/PhD student at UMass Chan Medical School, is navigating the intersection of medicine and research with the assistance of her mentors, Chancellor David D. McManus and Dorothy P. Schafer, PhD, the Molly McGovern Chair in Biomedical Research and professor of neurobiology.
“I would say I have a unique mentorship opportunity. I wanted to come to UMass Chan because I was looking for a place that offered groundbreaking research with an opportunity to see how that research can translate to patient care,” Barbini said. “I have two mentors here; Dr. Schafer is a phenomenal scientist and has provided me with a solid foundation of basic science, while Dr. McManus has shown me what it’s like to engage with patients and discuss research as a hope for future treatments.”
Barbini is the recent recipient of a three-year predoctoral fellowship award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to investigate how a specific protein expressed by ependymal cells contributes to inflammation within the central nervous system.
She explained that ependymal cells are found lining the brain ventricles, a space filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Inflammation in diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's often begins around the ventricles before spreading into the surrounding brain tissue, suggesting that important disease processes may be happening at these sites very early in disease, she said.
“The ependymal cells are super special because they sit at the interface between the brain and the cerebrospinal fluid. One side of the cell is exposed to cerebrospinal fluid while the other faces the brain tissue, allowing them to act as gatekeepers between the brain and the immune signals traveling through the cerebrospinal fluid. If we can better understand their physiology, we may be able to target these cells in ways that could slow or prevent the spread of inflammation,” Barbini said.
Photo: Hallie Leo
Schafer said, “Because inflammation of the brain tissue immediately surrounding the ventricle is one of the first and most pronounced places to observe degeneration in multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases, Melanie’s work breaks completely new ground in understanding how this inflammation is initiated with strong promise for developing new therapeutics to help patients. She is most deserving of this award.”
Barbini credits her mentors with helping her to put the pieces of this research project together and showing her how an MD/PhD career can really work, combining her research and clinical interests. Since 2023, Barbini has been working in the Schafer lab, while doing clinical work with Chancellor McManus every two weeks.
“This award positions Melanie well to get into a great residency and pursue science and get further grant funding,” Chancellor McManus said. “She’s a very good writer, creative thinker and asks great questions. I think that she is extremely resilient, and I think those features will really position her well for success, whether it's as a physician-scientist or as a scientist, or if she chooses to go the clinical path.”
Barbini is from Westborough and earned her bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience at Northeastern University in Boston.
The Student Spotlight series features UMass Chan Medical School students in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and T.H. Chan School of Medicine. For more information about UMass Chan Medical School and how to apply, visit the Prospective Students page.
