A first-class learning and working
environment on the cutting edge
of neurobiology research
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Whatever question you want to ask the brain, here you will find the language and the tools to carry out your experiment, the right advisors to supervise your research, and the ideal working environment to start a brilliant and satisfying career in Neuroscience. All research and teaching take place in English. There are no tuition fees, and each PhD student receives a fellowship for 3-4 years.

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Faculty

Anna Menini

Anna Menini

Olfactory systemFull Professor
 
Laura Ballerini

Laura Ballerini

Neurons and nanomaterialsFull Professor
 
Giuliano Taccola

Giuliano Taccola

Spinal cord neurophysiologyAssociate Professor
 
Paul Heppenstall

Paul Heppenstall

Physiology of somatosensationCourse Coordinator - Full Professor
 
Michele Giugliano

Michele Giugliano

From neurons to networksAssociate Professor
 
Katja Reinhard

Katja Reinhard

Sensory-motor processingAssistant Professor
 

Associated members

Loredana Casalis

Loredana Casalis

AFM litographyScientist at Elettra Sincrotrone
 
Dan Cojoc

Dan Cojoc

Optical manipulation and imagingSenior Scientist at IOM-CNR
 
view all highlights

highlights

 
 
 
PhD course program 2023-24
 
Grant awarded - Horizon 2020 - Future Emerging Technologies
 
Spinal injuries: a new technology of electrostimulation for a targeted and more effective approach
 
Press release: Launching the EU funded €3M project to develop Nanodevices against Epilepsy and Parkinson...
 
"Not just light: the sensitivity of photoreceptors to mechanical stimuli is unveiled"
Not just light: the sensitivity of photoreceptors to mechanical stimuli is unveiled
 
  

Latest Publications

29/10/2023 Exp. Neurol.

Dynamic electrical stimulation enhances the recruitment of spinal interneurons by corticospinal input

Giuliano Taccola, Roger Kissane, Stanislav Culaclii, Rosamaria Apicella, Wentai Liu, Parag Gad, Ronaldo M. Ichiyama, Samit Chakrabarty, V. Reggie Edgerton

09/09/2023 Sci Adv

Pathway-specific inputs to the superior colliculus support flexible responses to visual threat

Chen Li, Norma K. Kühn, Ilayda Alkislar, Arnau Sans-Dublanc, Firdaouss Zemmouri, Soraya Paesmans, Alex Calzoni, Frédérique Ooms, Katja Reinhard, Karl Farrow

05/07/2023 bioRxiv

The neural basis of defensive behaviour evolution in Peromyscus mice

Felix Baier, Katja Reinhard, Victoria Tong, Julie Murmann, Karl Farrow, Hopi E. Hoekstr

03/07/2023 bioRxiv

Spinal facilitation of descending motor input

Giuliano Taccola, Roger Kissane, Stanislav Culaclii, Rosamaria Apicella, Wentai Liu, Parag Gad, Ronaldo M. Ichiyama, Samit Chakrabarty, V. Reggie Edgerton

14/09/2023 Chem. Eur. J.

Graphene Oxide Nanosheets Hamper Glutamate Mediated Excitotoxicity and Protect Neuronal Survival In An In vitro Stroke Model

Lorenza Tortella, Irene Santini, Neus Lozano, Kostas Kostarelos, Giada Cellot, Laura Ballerini

21/07/2023 iScience

Shedding light on human olfaction: Electrophysiological recordings from sensory neurons in acute slices of olfactory epithelium

Andres Hernandez-Clavijo, Cesar Adolfo Sánchez Triviño, Giorgia Guarneri, Chiara Ricci, Fabian A Mantilla-Esparza, Kevin Y Gonzalez-Velandia, Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo, Margherita Tofanelli, Pierluigi Bonini, Michele Dibattista, Giancarlo Tirelli, Anna Menini

 

04/05/2023 Sci Rep

Passive limb training modulates respiratory rhythmic bursts

Rosamaria Apicella and Giuliano Taccola 

30/04/2023 Biomolecules

Impact of magnetite nanowires orientation on morphology and activity of in vitro hippocampal neural networks

Belén Cortés-Llanos, Rossana Rauti, Ángel Ayuso-Sacido, Lucas Pérez, Laura Ballerini

06/02/2023 Chem Senses

Paradoxical electro-olfactogram responses in TMEM16B knock-out mice.

Giorgia Guarnieri, Simone Pifferi, Michele Dibattista, Johannes Reisert, Anna Menini

02/02/2023 Cell Mol Neurobiol

Suprapontine Structures Modulate Brainstem and Spinal Networks.

Atiyeh Mohammadshirazi, Rosamaria Apicella, Benjamín A. Zylberberg, Graciela L. Mazzone and Giuliano Taccola

02/12/2022 ACS Appl. Nano Mater.

Bonding of Neuropeptide Y on Graphene Oxide for Drug Delivery Applications to the Central Nervous System.

Cellot G, Jaquemin L, Reina G, Franceschi Biagioni A, Fontanini M, Chaloin O, Nishina Y, Bianco A, Ballerini L.

14/06/2022 Experimental Neurology

Stochastic spinal neuromodulation tunes the intrinsic logic of spinal neural networks.

Taccola G, Ichiyama RM, Edgerton VR, Gad P.

24/06/2022 bioRxiv

A novel preparation of the entire isolated CNS unveils the modulatory influences of supra-pontine structures on brainstem and spinal networks.

Mohammadshirazi A, Apicella R, Taccola G.

25/01/2022 Int. J. Mol. Sci.

Multidimensional Functional Profiling of Human Neuropathogenic FOXG1 Alleles in Primary Cultures of Murine Pallial Precursors.

Frisari S, Santo M, Hosseini A, Manzati M, Giugliano M, Mallamaci A.  

21/10/2022 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

TEGylated Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Platforms to Engineer Neuronal Networks.

Myriam Barrejón, Francesca Zummo, Anastasiia Mikhalchan, Juan J. Vilatela, Mario Fontanini, Denis Scaini, Laura Ballerini, and Maurizio Prato

 

02/09/2022 Front Neuroanat

No evidence for age-related alterations in the marmoset retina.

Haverkamp S, Reinhard K, Peichl L, Mietsch M. 

12/08/2022 Sci Adv

Distributed interfacing by nanoscale photodiodes enables single-neuron light activation and sensory enhancement in 3D spinal explants.

Thalhammer A, Fontanini M, Shi J, Scaini D, Recupero L, Evtushenko A, Fu Y, Pavagada S, Bistrovic-Popov A, Fruk L, Tian B, Ballerini L.

04/08/2022 Nanoscale

2D MXene interfaces preserve the basal electrophysiology of targeted neural circuits.

Xiao M, Li X, Pifferi S, Pastore B, Liu Y, Lazzarino M, Torre V, Yang X, Menini A, Tang M.

Cell Death Dis. 2022 Aug 13;13(8):705. doi: 10.1038/s41419-022-05144-6.PMID: 35963860

The dual action of glioma-derived exosomes on neuronal activity: synchronization and disruption of synchrony.

Spelat R, Jihua N, Sánchez Triviño CA, Pifferi S, Pozzi D, Manzati M, Mortal S, Schiavo I, Spada F, Zanchetta ME, Ius T, Manini I, Rolle IG, Parisse P, Millán AP, Bianconi G, Cesca F, Giugliano M, Menini A, Cesselli D, Skrap M, Torre V.

eNeuro. 2022 May 17;9(3):ENEURO.0471-21.2022. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0471-21.2022. Print 2022 May-Jun.PMID: 35487703

Slow Inactivation of Sodium Channels Contributes to Short-Term Adaptation in Vomeronasal Sensory Neurons.

Sarno N, Hernandez-Clavijo A, Boccaccio A, Menini A, Pifferi S.

Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 6;12(1):11447. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15572-1.PMID: 35794236

Expression pattern of Stomatin-domain proteins in the peripheral olfactory system.

Gonzalez-Velandia KY, Hernandez-Clavijo A, Menini A, Dibattista M, Pifferi S.

 

Cell Physiol Biochem. 2022 Jun 7;56(3):254-269. doi: 10.33594/000000531.PMID: 35670331

Supporting Cells of the Human Olfactory Epithelium Co-Express the Lipid Scramblase TMEM16F and ACE2 and May Cause Smell Loss by SARS-CoV-2 Spike-Induced Syncytia.

Hernandez-Clavijo A, Gonzalez-Velandia KY, Rangaswamy U, Guarneri G, Boscolo-Rizzo P, Tofanelli M, Gardenal N, Sanges R, Dibattista M, Tirelli G, Menini A.

Cellular, Molecular, Physiological, and Behavioral Aspects of Spinal Cord Injury, Academic Press, 2022, Pages 51-63

Neuromodulation and restoration of motor responses after severe spinal cord injury.

Sayenko DG, Cerrel Bazo HA, Horner PJ, Taccola G.

 

Latest Projects

In Vitro locomotor patterns - Innovative protocols of electrical stimulation to activate the in vitro locomotor pattern

In these last years, growing attention has been drawn upon the use of epidural electrical stimulation applied to the dorsal spinal cord to counteract...read more
 
 
student's voice

forthcoming activities

18
December
2023
14:00
4
Seminar
Full-scale point neuron model of mouse and human hippocampal CA1 microcircuit
by Dr. Daniela Gandolfi
 
14
December
2023
14:00
4
Seminar
GABAergic network activity, intrinsic excitability, synaptic potentials, and short-term plasticity in human epileptic neocortex
by Dr. Rüdiger Köhling
 
 
 

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