Education
1975 Degree: Biological Sciences, 110/110 cum Laude, University
School of Sciences, Bologna, Italy.
1978 Post-graduation in Pathology, University School of Medicine,
Pavia, Italy
1989 Degree: Medical Doctor, 110/110 cum Laude, University School
of Medicine, Bologna,Italy
Professional activity
1978/1980 Fellow of National Council of Research, CNR, at the
Institute of Clinical Electron Microscopy , University School of
Medicine, Bologna, Italy
1980-30/09/2002 Associated Researcher, Dipartimento Clinico di
Scienze Radiologiche e Istocitopatologiche, Facoltà di Medicina e
Chirurgia, Università di Bologna
1/10/2002 Associated professor,Department od Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences
8/11/2020 Full Professor, Department od Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences
2013 National Academic Qualification as Full Professor 06/A2 General and Clinical Pathology
2017 national Academic qualification as Full Professor 06/A4 Anatomic Pathology
Dean del Corso di Laurea magistrale in Biotecnologie Mediche dal 2009-20015
Board DIBINEMdal 2012 a tutt' oggi
Board Presidio QA-DID UNIBOdal 2012 al 2018
President AINPeNC
Coordinator EMWG dell'ESP, European Society of Pathology
Affiliations
1977 Società Italiana di Microscopia Elettronica
1982 Società Italiana per lo Studio del Connettivo
1987 Società Italiana di Istochimica
1990 International Academy of Pathology, IAP
1990 Gruppo Italiano di Diagnostica Ultrastrutturale
(President)
1998 Club Italiano di Neuropatologia
1994 Società Italiana di Neuropatologia (Member of the Board)
1999 American Society of Ultrastructural Pathology
2000 Società Italiana di Anatomia Patologica e Citopatologia,
SIAPEC
Invited speaker
1990 European Course of Cellular Pathology, Lyon, France
1997 International Workshop "The ultrastructural and molecular
approach for the diagnosis of primitive neuroectodemal tumors",
Bologna, Italy
1998 2nd International Congress of Torax Surgery, Bologna,
Italy
2000 Meeting SIAPEC-IAP, Bolzano, Italy
2003 19th European Congress of Pathology, Ljubljana,
Slovenija
2004 Associazione Italiana di Neuropatologia, Padova,24-26
maggio.
2005 preCongress meeting del EM Working Group, Paris, 3 September
2005
20th European Congress of Pathology, Sept 3-8, 2005
2005 CRONOBIE, Bologna , October 2006
2006 SIAPEC- Corso di Agiornamento, Bari, 10 April 2006
2007- Ernest Gutmann Heritage, 30-year after & 2007Spring
PaduaMuscleDays
2007- III Incontro Anatomo-clinico in Neurochirurgia, Udine, 19
Giugno
2007- 21st ECP (European Congress of Pathology) 8-13 September –
Istanbul,
2008-Conferenze di Neuroscienze 2008, OIRM S.Anna, Torino,
17 Gennaio
2008-Bari , GIPU, 15- 16 Febbraio
2008- Corso breve di Neuropatologia per
Specializzandi, Bari, 25-27 Febbraio
2008-Convegno “Gli adenomi ipofisari”, Cesena, 29
marzo
2008-3rd Intercontinental Congress of Pathology, Barcelona
2009- Corso breve di Neuropatologia per
Specializzandi, Bari, 17 Febbraio
2009- 22nd European Congress of Pathology
2010 Ronzano EuroMediterranean University Centre, 29-31
March
2010 PDTA Multidisciplinare per il paziente conn malattia
neuromuscolare, Bologna 26 Maggio
2010 SIAPEC, Congresso Nazionale, Bologna 21-25 Settembre
2011 Bari 11-12 Febbraio, Corso breve di
Neuropatologia per specializzandi
•
She was awarded a MIUR ex-60% Research grant and is a Director of the Research unit PRIN (PRIN 2002, 2006). She is the Director of Research Projects financed by private Trusts (Fondazione CARISBO and Fondazione Banca del Monte di Bologna and Ravenna); she is part of the funded Project MNGIE and the Project which was awarded a grant in 2009 Art 43 Legge 449/97 "Fattori genetici e rischio di miopatia da statine:studio caso-controllo" (Dr. Rita Rinaldi)
The results of this research have been presented at national and international congresses and published in international journals with IF:
•
Publications in international journals with IF, 181, (total IF 582,854; Scopus H index 39, Citation Index 5047)
ORCID ID 0000-0001-5824-3118
• Publications in international journals without IF, 4
• Invited speaker for Courses, National and International congresses, 84
• 2021AREA VRA 06: 1.00, AAA
Patent
A patent has been presented titled: “BIOMARCATORE DIAGNOSTICO DI MIOPATIA INFIAMMATORIA” (n. 102021000012572 , 17/05/2021, 50% UNIBO e 50% IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria S.Orsola, Bologna)
Research activity in Neuropathology–
The scientific activity in neuropathology has developed mainly in
the sudy of SNC neoplasms, myopathies and peripheral nerve
pathology. This interest stimulated by the diagnostic activity
using the electron microscopy on both CNS tumor after surgery and
muscle and nerve biopsy. As regards the study of myopathies the
main areas of interest concern the ultrastructural and molecular
approach to some limb-girdle dystrophies such dysferlinopathies and
more recently caveolinopathies. The aim of this study is the
identification of the pathogenetic mechanism underlying the
diseases to characterize some early morphological markers to obtain
a better clinico-pathological correlation. In the vasculopathy
field much study has been done on CADASIL, Autosomal Dominant
Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy: the
main diagnostic method is based on the use of transmission electron
microscopy for the identification in skin biopsy of the
patognomonic GOMs, granular osmiophilic materila, at
ultrastructural level, which can be recognized tightly joined to
smooth muscle cells. The diagnostic study is always associated with
more in-depth study of the overall morphological aspects of skin
biopsies from patients with clinical symptoms suggesting a
CADASIL-like disease. The Laboratory of Subcellular Diagnosis and
Pathology (directed by GC)of the Dipartimento Clinico di Scienze
Radiologiche e Istocitopatologiche, is one of the main reference
centers for subcellular diagnosis of CADASIL of the Italian CADASIL
Research Group. One of the most important problem in CNS tumor
pathology is represented by the definition of morphological
features of different brain tumors, both benign and malignant,
showing a clear-cell component deriving from both neuronal and
glial precursors. The ultrastructural study of these neoplasms
defined some subcellular diagnostic criteria and allowed for the
identification of new brain tumor entities. The morphological
approach needed the association of molecular methologies such as
FISH and nested-PCR which were applied respectively to neurocytoma
(in the clear-cell tumor group) and to diagnosis of extraosseous
Ewing-PNET family tumors.In particular the last group of tumors
represents a parallel field of study and research for tentative
identification of neural differentiation markers and the
relationship between those markers and the prognosis. The aim of
these study was to define entities and variants correlated to the
expression of different translocation products. Recently the main
focus of scientif research has been the study in vitro of
differentiation mechanisms of neoplastic cells in human
medulloblatoma, using cell cultures to correlate the
differentiation degree of the cells with the expression of key
components ofthe WNT signalling pathway (grant PRIn 2002, 2006)
using molecula methods to introduce some system modifications
likely those observed in human spontaneous tumor (Beta catenin,
axin, APC mutations. The aim of this project was that of defining
the role of some key proteins, beta catenin, in the neuronal
differentiation of neoplastic cells as evidenced in different
medulloblastoma histological variants, medulloblastoma with
neuromnal differentiation and medulloblastoma extensively
nodular/desmoplastic, showing a better prognosis.
As regards the study of myopathies the main areas of interest
concern the ultrastructural and molecular approach to some
limb-girdle dystrophies .The aim of this study is the
identification of the pathogenetic mechanism underlying the
diseases to characterize some early morphological markers obtaining
a better clinico-pathological correlation. The research interest is
also focused on the mechanism whereby muscle contributes to
ALS-associated motor neuron degeneration which is still unclear: it
seems that toxic signals originating from skeletal muscle
compromise the functional connection of muscle and nerve and that
skeletal muscle has a key role in the pathology. Since the skeletal
muscle could be considered a primary target of the pathology, we
hypothesize an alteration in the capacity of the satellite cells,
SCs, to repair/regenerate damaged myofibres in ALS affected
patients. During the regenerative process, the SCs divide and
subsequently differentiate thus activating the induction of
Myogenic Regulatory Factors (MRFs), that are crucial elements for
this kind of process. It is therefore possible that alterations in
MRF expression or activity play a role in muscle wasting during the
disease. So our project aims to understand in more detail the
molecular mechanism, the proliferative and differentiative ability
of SC in ALS, in order to find new therapeutic approaches to treat
this disease using different strategies, from cell therapy to the
regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.
The scientifical data has been presented at national and
international meetings and published in IF journal.
