I was involved in several projects related to neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), including an ambitious Telethon project about spinal muscular atrophy, acquiring several knowledges in the neuroscience field. Since many NDs there are no available treatments and lifestyle is fundamental to assure a healthy life and even prevent disease onset, I would like to investigate external factor effects on our well-being and on ND development.

The goal of the project is to study stressor effects on onset/progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). I will use in vitro ALS-models, unraveling cellular and molecular mechanisms and also in vivo model to the expression of several ALS-related genes in presence/absence of the stress. Then, I will correlate the gene expression with neuroinflammation, mitochondrial activity, neuron structural alterations and motor behavior of ALS mice.