Alejandro Scaffa

I am an Assistant Professor of Biology at Grinnell College for the 2026–2027 academic year. In Fall 2026, I will teach Principles of Pharmacology (BIO-375) and the Biochemistry Laboratory (BCM-262L). I am an experimental and computational biologist interested in how cells respond differently to persistent stress and how these differences shape development, disease, and responses to treatment.

 

My research focuses on cellular senescence, a stress-induced state in which cells stop dividing but remain metabolically active and capable of influencing surrounding tissues. Although senescence is often treated as a single biological state, senescent cells can differ substantially in their metabolism, inflammatory signaling, secretory activity, survival, and susceptibility to intervention. I am interested in understanding this heterogeneity across tissues, diseases, and microenvironments, particularly in fibroblasts and other stress-responsive cell populations.

 

My current work uses computational and quantitative approaches to investigate these questions. Current projects include single-cell RNA sequencing analyses of senescent fibroblast states, quantitative analysis of cellular and nuclear morphology, and computational pathology workflows that transform annotated tissue images into structured single-cell datasets. A central goal of this work is to identify recurring patterns in how cells allocate energetic, redox, damage-repair, and secretory capacity under persistent stress. These patterns may help explain why apparently similar senescent cells have different biological functions and vulnerabilities.

 

I earned my Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology from Brown University, where I studied how supplemental oxygen exposure causes cellular senescence, metabolic dysregulation, and lasting changes in postnatal lung development. I subsequently completed postdoctoral training at the pharmaceutical company Merck (Merck Research Laboratories), where I investigated cancer-associated fibroblasts, senescence, and the tumor microenvironment in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. I later earned an M.S. in Computer Science from Northeastern University’s Roux Institute, adding formal training in algorithms, machine learning, and reproducible computational analysis.

 

In my teaching and research mentoring, I emphasize scientific reasoning, reproducibility, and the connection between molecular mechanisms and larger biological systems. I am particularly interested in helping students integrate experimental biology, computation, and quantitative analysis to address complex biomedical questions.