Ana Olivera PhD, MS

Dr. Ana Olivera received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Spain, and relocated to the US with a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Georgetown University, Washington DC, where she later became a Research Assistant Professor. She conducted seminal work on the intracellular generation of the lipid mediator sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and its role in various biological processes. Subsequently, she earned a position as a Staff Scientist in the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) where she developed an expertise in mast cell biology.

During these years, she studied signaling networks regulating mast cell activation and allergic hypersensitivity reactions, including sphingosine-1-phosphate and its receptors. In 2013, Dr. Olivera joined the laboratory of Dr. Dean Metcalfe as a Staff Scientist in the Mast Cell Biology Section of the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID). She was awarded the honorific title of Associate Scientist in 2017. The lab focuses on understanding mast cell responses, their regulation, and the impact of mast cell-derived products in inflammation and disease.