Brain development and disease

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Group leader:  Alessandro Vercelli

brain-development_vercelli
alessandro vercelli

Alessandro Vercelli

Deputy Rector for Biomedical Research, Full Professor of Human Anatomy

Contacts:

Tel   + 39 011 670 6617 - 7700
Lab  + 39 011 670 6641
Fax  + 39 011 2366617
e-mail:  alessandro.vercelli@unito.it

Born in Turin on 9.07.1961. Italian

1986. MD, University of Turin.
1990. PhD in Ophthalmology, University of Turin.
1994. PhD in Human Anatomy, University of Lausanne.
1990. Assistant Professor (Human Anatomy), University of Turin.
1990/1991: assistant médecin at the Institute of Anatomy of the University of Lausanne (CH) (supervisor prof. G.M. Innocenti, Dir. prof. H. van der Loos).
1992, 1995: guest researcher at the Dept. of Brain & Cognitive Sci., MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA (c/o prof. G.Schneider and S.Jhaveri).
1998: associate professor at the Dept. Of Anatomy, Pharmacology and Forensic Medicine, now at the Dept. of Neuroscience of Turin.
4/2014 - today  Scientific Director of the NICO
4/2014 President of the Interuniversity Consortium INN (National Institute of Neuroscience)
2013    Director of the Interdepartmental Ctr of Neuroscience (Neuroscience Institute of Turin).
29/1/2014 Qualification for full professorship 05/H1 Human Anatomy.
01/10/2018 vice-Director (Scientific Research) of the Department of Neuroscience, University of Torino
08/10/2019  Deputy Rector for Biomedical Research, University of Torino
03/2020 President of the Spin off Committee of the University of Torino
2022 - 2023  President SINS, Italian Society for Neuroscience

Guest referee for international scientific journals:
Brain Res, Brain Res Bull ("Guest editor" in a special issue), Cerebral Cortex, Eur J Neurosci, J Neurosci Meth, J Chem Neuroanat, Neurosci Lett., Neurobiology of Disease, J. Neurosci. Res., Current Medical Chemistry, Neurosci Res, Neurol Res, Eur J Pain, Cytotherapy, Mol Cell Neurosci, Acta Neuropathol, J Cell Transplant.

Scientific Societies:
Soc. Italiana di Anatomia (1986); SINS (1987); ENA-FENS (1990); Società di Neuroscienze USA (1991); Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Neuromorfologia (consigliere dal 2002, secretary general from 2010); Socio della Società di Anatomia e Istologia Svizzera e dell'Unione delle Società Svizzere di Biologia Sperimentale (USGEB) (1995); EBBS (European Brain & Behavior Society) (2006).

Member of the advisory committee of:
Società Italiana di Neuroscienze (2003-2007, responsible for coordinating the "Brain Awareness Week" for Italy, Treasurer 2006-2007).
Gruppo Italiano per lo studio della Neuromorfologia from 2003; from 2010 secretary general;
Treasurer of the IBRO world meeting 2011 (Firenze)
Member of the Host Committee del FENS2014 meeting (Milano)

Membership in research centers:
Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO, Orbassano, Turin);

Membership in research networks:
Istituto Nazionale di Neuroscienze (INN); Neuroscience Institute Turin (NIT); Progetto NEUROTRANSPLANT.

Reviewer in international grant projects:
Fondazione Mariani, HUMAN FRONTIER, e Ministry of the University, Croatia; University of Singapore; University of Hong Kong, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Ataxia UK

PhD program
Neuroscience
PhD students: M. Repici, P. Muzzi, M. Mereuta, M. Boido, G. Spigolon, S. Tomasi, A. Piras, V. Grande, I. Repetto, M. Tropiano, M. Ghibaudi.

Symposia organisation:
9-11 October 1995 St.Vincent: Fourth Conference of the Institute of Developmental Neuroscience and Aging: Recent advances in Neurobiology. Plasticity and Regeneration.
22-23 June 1996: Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Neuromorfologia, Torino.
May 1998 Association des Anatomistes, Torino.
12-13 June 1999: "Developmental plasticity of cerebral cortex: I. Consequences of early cortical lesions", Torino.
September 1999: International Federation of Anatomical Associations, Rome.
September 2001: Società Italiana di Neuroscienze, Torino.
September 2001: Società Italiana di Anatomia, Ascoli
September 2006: EBBS, Trieste

Invited seminars:
10 April 1992: Accademia di Medicina di Torino: Connessioni interemisferiche tra aree visive: sviluppo postnatale delle aree di origine.
9 September 1993: Scuola internazionale di Neuroscienze, Isola d'Elba (IDNA): Developmental plasticity of dendrites in the CNS.
23 September 1993: Dipartimento di Anatomia e Istologia, Università di Salamanca, Spagna: Effetti dell'enucleazione dell'occhio sull'attività NADPH-diaforasica nel collicolo superiore.
30 March 1995: Dipartimento di Anatomia e Fisiologia Umana di Torino, polo fisiologico: Effetti dell'enucleazione dell'occhio e dell'attività sulla NADPH-diaforasi nel collicolo superiore del ratto.
8 August 1995: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA: «NADPH-diaphorase in the developing superior colliculus of rats: effects of eye enucleation and of activity».
9 October 1995: «Dendritic development of visual callosal neurons», nell'ambito della Fourth Conference of the Institute of Developmental Neuroscience and Aging: Recent advances in Neurobiology. Plasticity and Regeneration. St. Vincent, Aosta.
9 May 1996: «Development of dendritic arbors of visual callosal neurons», University Laboratory of Physiology, Università di Oxford, UK.
9 December 1999: "Role of nitric oxide in the development of retinal projections", ICBM, Lausanne, CH.
30 March 2000: "Specifity vs selection in the development of cerebral cortex: dendritic architecture of pyramidal neurons", SISSA, Trieste, I.
25 April 2001: "Nitric oxide system" (nell'ambito del Congresso della Società Italiana di Istochimica)
11 June 2002: "Somatodendritic minicolumns of output neurons in cerebral cortex" (Department of Human Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, UK.
September 2002: "Fattori genetici ed epigenetici che regolano la crescita dei dendriti." CNR Pisa
June 2004: "Anatomia del tratto cervicale", Alba
Luglio 2004: Audizione presso la commissione del farmaco, all'Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma, per relazionare sulle ricerche su Cellule staminali e SLA
September 2004: "Ruolo della Citron K nello sviluppo della corteccia cerebrale", Università di Catania
September 2005 docente al corso FENS "Development and Plasticity of the Human Cerebral Cortex", Zagabria: "Experimental models of cortical development"
7 April 2006: Corso Nazionale di Neurooftalmologia, Pollenzo: Neuroanatomia funzionale della visione
Ferrara 25/10/06 CRUI Conference. Viaggio della ricerca in Italia. Round Table: "La ricerca sulle cellule staminali: il loro utilizzo attuale e le prospettive"
Brescia 7/11/06 6th International Symposium on Experimental Spinal Cord Repair and Regeneration: Survival, differentiation and effects of stem cells of different lines in the injured spinal cord.
Napoli 21/12/06 "The brain and beyond": Organizzazione colonnare della corteccia cerebrale.
Milano, Besta 12/2/08 Ruolo di JNK nella morte neuronale nell'infarto cerebrale, nell'epilessia e nella ontogenesi cerebrale.
Genova, DIMES 19/3/08 Trapianti di cellule staminali nel midollo spinale patologico: ruolo bystander piuttosto che cell replacement.
Cluny, COST meeting, 4/10/08
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, USA; 3/2/09: JNK in the central nervous system: from physiology to neurodegeneration
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm; 12/6/09: JNK in the central nervous system: from physiology to neurodegeneration
MGH Ctr for Regenerative Medicine (Massachusetts General Hospital), Boston 2010: Development, plasticity and organisation in modules of cortical pyramidal neurons.
Stem cell therapy in spinal cord disease, Buzios (Brazil), 2010.
Stem cells in spinal cord injury repair, Brescia 2011
EPFL, Lausanne 2011 Development, plasticity and organisation in modules of cortical pyramidal neurons
March 2012 L'ambiente Interagisce con i geni e li modifica permanentemente nello sviluppo del cervello, InfinitaMente, Verona;
April 2012 Trapianti di cellule staminali in modelli murini di traumi del midollo spinale, riunione FAIP presso Ministero Salute, Roma;
17 April 2012 Il movimento e l'atrofia muscolare spinale, Soroptimist Biella
17 May 2012 Ruolo di JNK nella morte neuronale da eccitotossicità e sua inibizione: cittadini pacifici diventano killer, Università Cattolica, Roma;
22 June 2012 Of mice and man: MSC in ALS. Lost in translation? Università di Cagliari.
9 June 2013, Staminali cosa sono e cosa servono? Torino, Politecnico
17 June 2013 Sviluppo normale e patologico della corteccia cerebrale, Fondazione Ferrero, Alba (CN)
13 December 2013 Symposium "I am not my body, I am my mind" during "2013: year of the Italian Culture in the US", Italian Embassy, Washington.

Academical appointments:
1994-1998 Spokeperson for Research Assistants at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Turin;
2001-2012 member of the Council of the Department of Anatomy, Pharmacology and Forensic Medicine;
2001-2003 Contact person for Safety, Anatomy in the Department of Anatomy, Pharmacology and Forensic Medicine;
2003-2007: member of the Rectoral Committee for Neuroscience, University of Turin;
2006-2009: Council of the Scuola interfacoltà SUISM (Scuola Universitaria Interfacoltà di Scienze Motorie)
2006-2009: VicePresident della SUISM (mandate for teaching organisation)
2006-2012: member of the Council of NIT (centro interdipartimentale Neuroscience Institute at Turin);
2007-2012: member of the Staff Committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Turin;
from 2012 member of the Council of the Department of Neuroscience;
2012 - today: member of the Operative Council of the Neuroimaging Center of the University of Turin.
2007-2010 Director of the Animal Facility at the Department of Anatomy, Pharmacology and Forensic Medicine;
2013- Director of the Animal Facility at the NICO

Scientific collaborations:
Prof.P. Arlotta, New York Stem Cell Foundation-Robertson Investigator, Harvard University
Prof. M. Bentivoglio, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università di Verona
Prof. PGH Clarke, Inst. de Biologie Cellulaire et de Morphologie, Losanna, CH
Prof. G.M.Innocenti, Karolinska Institutet, Stoccolma, S
Dr. S.Jhaveri, Dept. Brain & Cognitive Sci., MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
Dr. Z. Molnàr, Department of Anatomy, Oxford
Prof. L. Silengo, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Torino
Dr. G. Battaglia, Istituto Besta, Milano
Dr. R. Spreafico, Istituto Besta, Milano
Dott.ssa T. Borsello, Istituto Mario Negri, Milano
Dott.ssa L. Mazzini, Clinica neurologica, Università del Piemonte Orientale
Prof. G. Tredici Dipartimento di Neuroscienze e Tecnologie Biomediche, Università di Milano Bicocca
Dott.ssa F. Fagioli, Dipartimento di Scienze Pediatriche e dell'Adolescenza, Università di Torino
Prof. F. Carbone EPFL, Lausanne CH
Prof. R. Lent, Università di Rio de Janeiro, Brasile
Prof. G. Geminiani, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Torino
Prof. T. Herdegen, Istituto di Farmacologia, Università di Kiel

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