Headshot of Nancy Padilla-Coreano.

Nancy Padilla-Coreano

Assistant professor of neuroscience
University of Florida in Gainesville

Nancy Padilla-Coreano is assistant professor of neuroscience at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Her research explores how the brain enables humans and animals to navigate complex social dynamics and how this ability is disrupted in disease states. Padilla-Coreano uses behavioral assays, multisite electrophysiology and artificial intelligence to identify the neural dynamics behind social competency in mouse models.

Her lab has received funding from the National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN Initiative, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Award and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative. Most recently, she was selected as a McKnight neuroscience fellow and a Klingenstein-Simons fellow. Padilla-Coreano started her laboratory at the University of Florida in January 2022. For information more about her, please visit https://www.padillacoreanolab.com/.

Explore more from The Transmitter

Child sitting on a trampoline.

Study questions DSM-5’s combining of autism traits

Sensory traits and restricted and repetitive behaviors are best understood as distinct but related characteristics, the new work suggests.

By Lauren Schenkman
23 July 2026 | 5 min read
Illustration of man holding a microphone facing an audience.

After the ‘Thank you’ slide: When lived trauma enters trauma neuroscience

Trauma researchers need professional norms that allow brief, humane acknowledgment when acute trauma directly affects a scientific community.

By Ziv Ben-Zion
22 July 2026 | 7 min read
Illustration of scientist facing a fractured landscape.

Redefining underrepresentation in global neuroscience

Shifting the focus of equity initiatives from identity categories to structural barriers can reveal overlooked challenges and increase support and participation worldwide.