Dr. Roberta Reis is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh, where she works under the mentorship of Dr. Velpandi Ayyavoo. Her research focuses on the neuroimmune and neurovascular mechanisms through which viral infections drive synaptic loss and cognitive decline. During her PhD at Pitt, she pioneered the immunocompetent, 3D- human brain organoid model to study HIV neuropathogenesis. She has since advanced this platform by incorporating monocytes and vascular endothelial cells, establishing an immune-competent, vascularized model of the human brain-peripheral axis.