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Hire Dr. Azzurra C.

United States

USD 70 /hr

Neuroscientist & Scientific Consultant | Scientific Editing, BBB Biology, Cancer & Neurovascular Research

Profile Summary

I am a neuroscientist with extensive experience in blood-brain barrier (BBB) biology, cancer biology, neurovascular dysfunction, and translational research. My work has focused on BBB development and dysfunction in neurological disease, as well as the interactions between cancer cells and the brain microenvironment during metastasis. I have experience in experimental design, scientific writing and editing, manuscript preparation, reviewer response support, figure and presentation feedback, microscopy-based research, in vivo studies, tissue culture, and data interpretation. I also provide scientific English editing and communication support for researchers, students, and biotech teams, particularly for authors writing in English as a second language. In addition to research expertise, I have strong mentoring and teaching experience and enjoy helping scientists improve the clarity, structure, and impact of their scientific communication. I am bilingual in English and Italian and can provide both scientific and non-scientific translation and editing support. Areas of expertise include: • Blood-brain barrier biology • Cancer biology and metastasis • Neurovascular research • Scientific editing and proofreading • Manuscript and grant feedback • Scientific presentations and figure review • Experimental design and troubleshooting • Microscopy and in vivo research • Scientific English support for ESL researchers • English ↔ Italian translation I am available for short-term and long-term collaborations, consulting projects, manuscript editing, mentoring, and scientific communication support.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ★ Medical Illustration
• ★ Manuscript & Journal Article Writing
• ★ Grant Writing
• ☆ Biostatistics
• ☆ Biochemistry
• ☆ Immunoassay
• ☆ Molecular Biology
• ☆ Genetics
• ☆ PCR
• ☆ Cell Biology
• ☆ Cell-Based Assays
• ☆ Cell Signaling Pathways
• ☆ Membrane Biology
• ☆ Gene Regulation
• ☆ Neuroscience
• ☆ Developmental Neuroscience
• ☆ Molecular Neuroscience
• ☆ Histology
• ☆ Microscopy
• ☆ Cryosectioning
• ☆ Light Microscopy
• ☆ Fluorescence Microscopy
• ☆ Data Analysis
• ☆ Image Processing
• ☆ Data Processing
• ☆ Data Visualization
• ☆ Data Management
• ☆ Data Cleaning
• ☆ Cell Culture
• ☆ Primary Cells
• ☆ Cell Banking
• ☆ Cell Surface Receptors
• ☆ Immunohistochemistry
• ☆ Science Outreach
• ☆ Higher Education
• ☆ Science Education
• ☆ SPSS
• ☆ Excel
• ☆ Neurology
• ☆ Stroke & Cerebrovascular Disease
• ☆ Counseling & Mental Health Support
• ☆ Domestic Violence Support
• ☆ Hypothesis
• ☆ Peer Review
• ☆ Research Methodology
• ☆ Meta-Research
• ☆ Fact Checking
• ☆ Literature Search
• ☆ Gap Analysis
• ☆ Print Design
• ☆ Presentation Design
• ☆ Animation & Illustration
• ☆ Video Production
• ☆ Scientific Animation & Illustration
• ☆ Instructional Webinars
• ☆ Skills Training
• ☆ Regulatory Writing
• ☆ Nonclinical Study Documentation
• ☆ Medical Writing
• ☆ Medical Content Writing
• ☆ Research Summaries & Abstracts
• ☆ Technical & Scientific Writing
• ☆ Journal Selection
• ☆ Instructional Materials
• ☆ Experimental Protocols
• ☆ SOP & Protocol Writing
• ☆ Textbook Content Writing
• ☆ Science Communication
• ☆ Literature Review
• ☆ Traditional/Narrative Literature Review
• ☆ Systematic Literature Review
• ☆ Copywriting
• ☆ User Guides & Handbooks
• ☆ Scientific Proofreading & Editing
• ☆ Proofreading & Editing
• ☆ Language Translation
• ☆ Creative Writing
• ☆ Audio Transcription
• ☆ Course Content Writing
• ☆ Crisis Management & Emergency Preparedness
• ☆ Project Management

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Consulting
• Data & AI

Writing Medical Writing, Technical Writing, General Proofreading & Editing, Translation

Research Scientific and Technical Research, Systematic Literature Review

Consulting Operations Consulting, Scientific and Technical Consulting

Data & AI Statistical Analysis, Image Processing, Image Analysis, Data Visualization, Data Cleaning, Data Processing

Work Experience

Assistant Professor of Medical Sciences

Columbia University

December 2025 - Present

Associate Research Scientist

Columbia University

June 2021 - Present

Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Columbia University

November 2015 - May 2021

Education

PhD in Molecular Medicine

University of Milan - SEMM (European School of Molecular Medicine)

January 2011 - August 2015

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Azzurra Cottarelli, Rayan Mamoon, Robin Ji, Eric Mao, Amelia Boehme, Aditya Kumar, Sandy Song, Valentina Allegra, Sabrina V. Sharma, Elisa Konofagou, et al. (2025). Low Hemoglobin Causes Hematoma Expansion and Poor Intracerebral Hemorrhage Outcomes . Stroke.

Azzurra Cottarelli, David J. Roh, Fernanda Carvalho Poyraz, Eric Mao, Qi Shen, Vedant Kansara, Sandy Song, Travis Nemkov, Aditya Kumar, Krystalyn E. Hudson, et al. (2024). Anemia From Inflammation After Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Relationships With Outcome . Journal of the American Heart Association.

Azzurra Cottarelli, David J. Roh, Ricardo Murguia-Fuentes, Kursat Gurel, Farid Khasiyev, Salwa Rahman, Pedro Paiva Bueno, Khrystyna Kozii, Antonio J. Spagnolo-Allende, Marialaura Simonetto, et al. (2024). Relationships of Hematocrit With Chronic Covert and Acute Symptomatic Lacunar Ischemic Lesions . Neurology.

Roh DJ, Murguia-Fuentes R, Gurel K, Khasiyev F, Rahman S, Bueno PP, Kozii K, Spagnolo-Allende AJ, Cottarelli A, Simonetto M, et al. (2023). Relationships of Hematocrit With Chronic Covert and Acute Symptomatic Lacunar Ischemic Lesions . Neurology.

Azzurra Cottarelli, Fernanda Carvalho Poyraz, Amelia Boehme, Lisa Eisler, Mitchell S. V. Elkind, Shivani Ghoshal, Sachin Agarwal, Soojin Park, Jan Claassen, E. Sander Connolly, et al. (2023). Red Blood Cell Transfusions Are Not Associated With Incident Complications or Poor Outcomes in Patients With Intracerebral Hemorrhage . Journal of the American Heart Association.

Azzurra Cottarelli, David J. Roh, Amelia Boehme, Rayan Mamoon, Destiny Hooper, Robin Ji, Eric Mao, Aditya Kumar, Fernanda Carvalho Poyraz, Stacie L. Demel, et al. (2023). Relationships of Hemoglobin Concentration, Ischemic Lesions, and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Intracerebral Hemorrhage . Stroke.

Louis-Philippe Bernier and Cl{\'{e}}ment Brunner and Azzurra Cottarelli and Matilde Balbi(2021). Location Matters: Navigating Regional Heterogeneity of the Neurovascular Unit . Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. 15. Frontiers Media {SA}

(2020). Fgfbp1 promotes blood-brain barrier development by regulating collagen IV deposition and maintaining Wnt/β-catenin signaling . Development (Cambridge, England).

Azzurra Cottarelli, Saptarshi Biswas, Dritan Agalliu(2020). Neuronal and glial regulation of CNS angiogenesis and barriergenesis . Development. 147. (9). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString dev182279. The Company of Biologists

Biswas, S., Cottarelli, A., Agalliu, D.(2020). Neuronal and glial regulation of CNS angiogenesis and barriergenesis . Development (Cambridge). 147. (9).

Benbenishty, A., Gadrich, M., Cottarelli, A., Lubart, A., Kain, D., Amer, M., Shaashua, L., Glasner, A., Erez, N., Agalliu, D., et al.(2019). Prophylactic TLR9 stimulation reduces brain metastasis through microglia activation . PLoS Biology. 17. (3).

PREPRINT

Azzurra Cottarelli, Rayan Mamoon, Robin Ji, Eric Mao, Amelia Boehme, Aditya Kumar, Sandy Song, Valentina Allegra, Sabrina V. Sharma, Elisa Konofagou, et al. (2024). Low hemoglobin causes hematoma expansion and poor intracerebral hemorrhage outcomes .

Azzurra Cottarelli, Sanjid Shahriar, Ahmet Arac, Michael Glendinning, Mary Claire Tuohy, Grace Prochilo, Jason B. Neal, Aimee L. Edinger, Dritan Agalliu (2023). Rab7a activation promotes degradation of select tight junction proteins at the blood-brain barrier after ischemic stroke .

OTHER

Azzurra Cottarelli, Amit Benbenishty, Meital Gadrich, Alisa Lubart, David Kain, Malak Amer, Lee Shaashua, Ariella Glasner, Neta Erez, Dritan Agalliu, et al.(2019). Prophylactic TLR9 stimulation reduces brain metastasis through microglia activation . Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory