Maria Teresa Dell’Anno

The study of human neural stem cells and their potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders has recently undergone a substantial expansion. The possibility to generate human neurons suitable for cell replacement therapies or for the establishment of in vitro platforms not only allows to investigate pathological molecular mechanisms, but also to validate the efficacy of newly synthetized drugs.

In this context, the Cellular Engineering laboratory at “Fondazione Pisana per la Scienza” is mostly focused on the study of human neural stem cells and on their differentiation process toward the neuronal and glial fate. Additionally, the Laboratory is dedicated to the culture of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) to their characterization and subsequent neuro-differentiation.

Maria Teresa Dell’Anno obtained her Master Degree in Medicinal Chemistry and PhD in Neurobiology at the University of Pisa and carried out part of her research at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Subsequently, she focused on the study of cellular reprogramming and pluripotent stem cells at San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan and subsequently in the Department of Neurology at the Yale School of Medicine. She currently works on the study of astrogliosis in neurodegenerative pathologies.