Rita Alonaizan
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Dr Rita Alonaizan is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Mommersteeg group at the Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine. Her research focuses on heart regeneration and the metabolic regulation of cardiomyocyte proliferation in the Astyanax mexicanus fish. She earned her DPhil from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics at the University of Oxford in 2020 where she was mentored by Professors Carolyn Carr and Nicola Smart. During her DPhil, she investigated cardiac cell therapy following myocardial infarction with a focus on phenotypic analysis of cardiac stromal populations, miRNAs and metabolism. Prior to that, she was awarded an MSc in Clinical Embryology from the University of Oxford in 2015 and a First-Class Honours BSc in Developmental Biology from University College London in 2013.