Dr. Zhdanova received her MD in Internal Medicine from the 1st Leningrad Medical Institute and has specialized in Clinical Physiology. She then received her PhD in Physiology of Behavior from the Institute of Experimental Medicine (St. Petersburg Russia). She completed her post-doctoral training at the Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, and then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Zhdanova is studying the role of endogenous factors secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid and/or blood circulation in sleep regulation. Among these factors, the hormone of the pineal gland, melatonin, and the glycoproteins secreted by the subcomissural organ are currently under investigation in her laboratory. To study the effects of these factors on sleep, cognitive performance and drug abuse and to elucidate the mechanisms involved, the experimental procedures are conducted in diverse species: humans, monkeys and zebrafish.

Dr. Zhdanova teaches in the Neuroscience course offered in the Medical School (AN703). She is a leader of the Carnegie Initiative group "Alternative Pathways in the Neurosciences".

Dr. Zhdanova is a member of the Department Qualifying Exam Committee and the Medical School Executive Committee of the Cell and Molecular Biology program.