AwardOctober 2025
Admitted to University of Palermo-UTMB Dual PhD Program
Accepted into the dual degree PhD program in Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics jointly offered by the University of Palermo and UTMB.
Alfredo Sandoval
MD-PhD Student
Spinal Cord Injury, Gene Therapy & Deep Learning
Latest News & Updates
PublicationAugust 2025
Paper accepted in Journal of Neuroscience
Our paper 'Sensory Deficits in mice with Lateral Spinal Cord Hemisection Mimic the Brown-Séquard Syndrome' was accepted for publication.
PublicationAugust 14, 2025
Paper accepted in Molecular Therapy Methods & Clinical Development
Our paper 'Adeno-Associated Viral Vector Resource for the RNA-Targeting Cas13d: A Comparison of High Fidelity Variants, DjCas13d and hfCas13d' was accepted for publication.
AwardFebruary 2025
Chen Lab Awarded Team Science Pilot Program Grant
Dr. Bo Chen's lab received funding for the project 'Mobility Aging Clock: Identifying Kinematic Signatures Predictive of Healthy Aging.'
AwardFebruary 2025
NGP Academic Excellence Award
Received the 3rd Place award from the UTMB Neuroscience Graduate Program.
PublicationDecember 2024
Book Chapter Published in Neuroimmune Pharmacology and Therapeutics
The book chapter 'Regenerative and Repair Strategies for the Central Nervous System' was published in Neuroimmune Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
About Me
Academic Background
MD - Doctor of Medicine & PhD - Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience
University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)
Developing genetic, imaging, and computational tools for spinal cord injury treatment.
PhD - Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics
University of Palermo (UNIPA)
Dual degree PhD program in collaboration with UTMB focusing on spinal cord injury research.
BS in Neuroscience (with Honors)
University of Texas at Dallas (UTD)
Thesis: "Engineering the Neuronal Genome with CRISPR-Cas".
AAS in Paramedicine
McLennan Community College
Clinical training in emergency medical techniques and acute patient care.
Research Interests
Spinal Cord InjuryGene TherapyVector EngineeringDeep LearningComputational NeuroscienceAutomated KinematicsComputer Vision
Alfredo Sandoval is an MD-PhD student in the Neuroscience graduate program, where his research focuses on developing genetic, imaging, and computational tools to improve outcomes after spinal cord injury. His interdisciplinary work combines viral vector design, imaging and microscopy methods, and deep learning to better understand neuronal dysfunction and accelerate therapeutic translation.
Highlighted Publications
Publication2025
Adeno-Associated Viral Vector Resource for the RNA-Targeting Cas13d: A Comparison of High Fidelity Variants, DjCas13d and hfCas13d
Molecular Therapy Methods & Clinical DevelopmentBack, F., Sandoval, A., Vu, L. M., Hong, V. M., Bhaskara, A., Rodriguez, S. R., O'Brien, J. T., Kolber, B. J., Kroener, S., Ploski, J. E.
CasRxCas13dAAVRNA-Targeting
Publication2024
Reduction of prolonged excitatory neuron swelling after spinal cord injury improves locomotor recovery in mice
Science translational medicine 16 (766), eadn7095Li, Q., Sandoval, A., Moth, J., Shang, J., Liew, J. Y., Dunn, T., Yang, Z., Su, J., Henwood, M., Williams, P., Chen, B.
Spinal Cord InjuryNeuron SwellingLocomotor Recovery