Mechanisms of motor neuron disease: from RNA processing to selective neuronal vulnerability

• Prof Dr Livio Pellizzoni
  ­Department of Pathology & Department of Cell Biology and Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
  "Mechanisms of motor neuron disease: from RNA processing to selective neuronal vulnerability"
  ­
  18th March 2024, 11:00
  Paul Flechsig Institute - Center of Neuropathology and Brain Research, Room 3093, Liebigstraße 19 (Haus C), 04103 Leipzig

 

Abstract:

Research in the Pellizzoni laboratory investigates the mechanisms by which RNA binding proteins (RBPs) and molecular chaperones that mediate their assembly into RNA-protein complexes (RNPs) regulate gene expression. The laboratory also focuses on the question of how general perturbations of RNA metabolism cause synaptic dysfunction and neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). In these studies, the laboratory employs cellular and animal models as well as a wide range of genomic, biochemical, molecular, and imaging approaches. High-throughput screens are also used to discover chemical and genetic modifiers of disease pathways. On one hand, these efforts are designed to advance our knowledge of fundamental aspects of RNA regulation and neuronal function. On the other, they aim to identify mechanisms of selective neuronal vulnerability and develop therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disease. 

Short Bio:

Livio Pellizzoni is an Associate Professor holding a joint appointment in the Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and Neurology at the Columbia University Medical Center. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Rome La Sapienza and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He carried out postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania where he was an HHMI fellow. In 2002, he started his independent career at the Institute of Cell Biology of Rome and was the recipient of the EMBO Young Investigator award and the Telethon Career Award. He has been on the faculty of Columbia University since 2007.