Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Faculty, Chronic Brain Injury
698 Biomedical Research Tower
460 W. 12th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210
614-366-6569
Research Focus
Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries cause profound neurological deficits and long-term disability due to detrimental alterations of neuronal circuits. Although axonal injury is associated with several neurobehavioral and neuropathological characteristics, how changes in intrinsic neuronal properties alter interaction between neurons and non-neuronal cells remains a central mystery in neuroscience. Much of the progress to address this question has come from either studies that use in vitro surrogate models or in vivo endpoint studies. These experimental models, however, do not provide the spectrum of variables that influence the behavioral or systemic changes that occur in response to CNS trauma. It is our goal to shed some light on this important research topic and decipher the coding principle altering neuron circuit structure and function.
Approaches
We take advantage of a multidisciplinary approach that combines transcriptomics, bioinformatics, genetic, molecular and pharmacological approaches together with in vivo time-lapse multiphoton microscopy and whole-body optical clearing.
Education and Training
MS: Biology and Biotechnology, Insubria University (Italy)
Graduate School: Cell. & Molecular Neuroscience, International Max Plank Research School, Tuebingen (Germany)
Postdoctoral training: Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston (USA); DZNE, Bonn (Germany)