Founder and CEO

With a background in neuroscience, Laia founded Aelysia to create sustainable, high-quality research support beyond traditional career paths. She focuses on supporting projects that broaden our understanding of the nervous system across species and modalities, while fostering a work environment that is caring, creative, and solution-oriented. Laia has previously worked in leading institutions in academia and industry, including University College London, University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, University of Cambridge, and Hoffmann-La Roche.

Scientist

Ruairí is a scientist at Aelysia with a background and interest in evolutionary neuroscience. He has extensive experience in the reconstruction of neuronal circuits using both CATMAID and Neuroglancer, analysis of connectomes, and neuromorphological analysis using R and Python. He previously worked for the Drosophila Connectomics group in Cambridge and completed his PhD in the Prieto-Godino lab based at the Francis Crick Institute.

Scientist

Helen is a scientist at Aelysia and a former postdoctoral research fellow at University College London, specialising in high resolution fluorescence microscopy of mammalian synapses. She has extensive experience in patch clamp electrophysiology, alongside epifluorescence, confocal and two-photon fluorescence microscopy of calcium indicators, neurotransmitter biosensors and optogenetic constructs. Helen has contributed, as both a scientist and an editor, to high-impact publications in synaptic neuroscience. At Aelysia, she specialises in image data analysis and in editing of scientific manuscripts. 

Research Assistant

Eva is a multidisciplinary biologist with a background in behavioural ecology, and microscopy and imaging techniques. She completed her MSc in Microscopy and Imaging in 2020 which involved a collaborative project with the Electron Microscopy group at the Francis Crick Institute investigating and comparing automated segmentation techniques for the segmentation of organelles in volume EM datasets. Most recently she worked as a Research Assistant for the Drosophila Connectomics group in Cambridge where she gained extensive experience reconstructing, proofreading, and classifying brain and ventral nerve cord neurons for both male and female Drosophila connectomes. 

Research Assistant

Nina has a BA in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and has a passion for understanding the biological bases of behaviour. She comes with experience in a diversity of research environments, including working in developmental psychology and biology labs. Nina most recently worked as a Research Assistant at the Heinze Lab at Lund University using Flywire to proofread AI segmentation of the brain of Megalopta Genalis. Nina is excited to continue to develop her skills as a Research Assistant at Aelysia. 

Research Assistant

Alice is a Medical Neuroscience MSc. student at Charité University in Berlin. While studying, she became intrigued in cell biology and how its building blocks create life. Connectomics is a field that uncovers the intricate networks and pathways that compose a brain’s architecture. The mapping of neurons and their connections on platforms like Flywire has developed into an exciting passion of hers. She aspires to contribute to the field of connectomics, and generally to our understanding of how neural circuits give rise to cognitive functions and behaviours.

Scientific Advisor

Alex is a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and the University of Oxford. During his PhD at the University of Cambridge, he developed informatics tools and datasets for connectomics. As a research fellow, he is following up connectome-derived neurobiological hypotheses in the wet-lab. He advises on Aelysia projects and helps mentor our image annotators in connectomics and neurobiology.

Business Advisor

Alberto has a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Oxford and a Master in Management Science from Tsinghua University, where he studied as a Schwarzman Scholar. He has extensive experience in preclinical and clinical neuroscience research and has worked as a scientist across sectors, in academic research, policy-making, and business. He advises Aelysia on matters of business development and management strategy.

Research Assistant - Alumnus

Borja worked at Aelysia helping research teams in academia and industry address complex neuroscience questions. He traced and annotated connectomics datasets from various species, contributing to precise neuronal circuit reconstructions and supporting several neuroscience projects. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the Memory Unit of the Hospital de Sant Pau, where he studies the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease. His research combines neuropathology and patient-derived samples with complementary in vitro and in vivo models to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving the disorder.