RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
22/12/2021 - present:
Junior assistant professor
Laboratory of Neurophysiology of the Visuo-Motor Systems, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna.
01/11/2019 - 21/12/2021:
Research fellow in Biomedical Sciences
Laboratory of Neurophysiology of the Visuo-Motor Systems, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna.
30/03/2017 - 10/02/2020:
Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Sciences
Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. Promotor: Prof. Wim Vanduffel
▪ Care and operant conditioning of Non-Human Primates used in research
▪ Electrophysiological recordings of bioelectric activity of neurons of the macaque parietal cortex
▪ Acquisition and analysis of MRI and fMRI data
▪ Coaching of undergraduate and graduate students
▪ Analysis of behavioral and electrophysiological data
▪ Writing of scientific articles
▪ Holding of several scientific relevant seminars and meetings
01/10/2015 - 10/02/2020:
Ph.D. Student in Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences
Laboratory of Neurophysiology of the Visuo-Motor Systems, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna. Tutors: Prof. Patrizia Fattori and Dr. Annalisa Bosco
- Operant conditioning of the non-human primate
- Electrophysiological recordings of bioelectric activity of neurons of the macaque parietal cortex
- Coaching of undergraduate students
- Analysis of electrophysiological data
- Writing of scientific articles
- Discussion and analysis of scientific articles of particular relevance during group seminars
01/10/2014-31/07/2015:
Experimental thesis in Neurophysiology
Laboratory of Neurophysiology of the Visuo-Motor Systems, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna. Tutors: Prof. Patrizia Fattori and Dr. Rossella Breveglieri
- Operant conditioning of the non-human primate
- Analysis of electrophysiological data
- Neurophysiological data presentation in group seminars
- Preparation of thesis, titled “ Contributo dell'informazione visiva alla modulazione neuronale nell'area V6A durante movimenti di prensione”
EDUCATION
October 2015 - February 2020:
Ph.D. Student in PhD Programme of “Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences”
Laboratory of Neurophysiology of the Visuo-Motor Systems, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna. Tutors: Prof. Patrizia Fattori and Dr. Annalisa Bosco
March 2017 – February 2020:
Double Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven
Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium. Promotor: Prof. Wim Vanduffel
December 2015:
Qualification as a Pharmacist, University of Bologna
July 2015:
Master Degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies, One - Long cycle 2nd degree programme (LSCU), vote 104/110, University of Bologna
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
- AY 2021-2022: Adjunct professor in the experimental module of Applied Physiology (52 hours), Single cycle degree in Medicine and Surgery, Forlì, University of Bologna.
- AY 2020-2021: Teaching tutor in the experimental module of Applied Physiology (20 hours), Single cycle degree in Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna.
- AY 2019-2020: Teaching tutor in the experimental module of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems course (20 hous), International single cycle degree in Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna. Experimental activities: measure of blood arterial pressure, evaluation of spirometry, electrocardiography.
- AY 2019-2020: Assistant examiner in the courses of Physiology (Master's degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies, Prof. Patrizia Fattori, and Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology, Dr. Michela Gamberini) and Physiology of Nutrition (Master’s degree in Pharmacy, Dr. Annalisa Bosco). University of Bologna.
- AY 2019-2020: Frontal lessons addressed to Pharmacy and Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies students in the course of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna.
- AY 2017-2018: Frontal lesson addressed to Pharmaceutical Biotechnology students in the course of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna. Title: “Optogenetica: accendiamo le luci nel cervello”.
- AY 2016-2017:Frontal lesson addressed to Pharmacy and Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies students in the course of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna. Title: “Fisiopatologia del dolore e possibili approcci terapeutici”.
- AY 2016-2017: Support activity in the experimental module of General Physiology course of the Single cycle degree of Pharmacy.
Co-tutor of students
- 2021 - Co-promotor of:
- 1 thesis titled “Diminuzione dell’accuratezza di movimenti di raggiungimento dovuta alla stimolazione magnetica trancranica applicata sulla corteccia parietale mediale”, Master degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies, University of Bologna.
- 1 thesis titled “Codifica dei movimenti di raggiungimento nello spazio 3D nell’area MIP del macaco”, Master in Medical Biotechnology, University of Bologna.
- 3 thesis titled “Coinvolgimento dei neuroni dell’area parietale V6A nella pianificazione ed esecuzione di movimenti di raggiungimento”; “Identificazione degli stati neurali codificati durante un compito di raggiungimento ed effetto del feedback visivo”; “Trasformazioni visuo-motorie nel lobulo parietale superiore del macaco: approcci della teoria di informazione”, Bachelor in Biotechnology, University of Bologna.
- 1 thesis titled “Studio dei sistemi di riferimento per i movimenti di raggiungimento nell’area PEc della corteccia parietale di macaco”, Bachelor in Biological Sciences, University of Bologna.
- 2020 - Co-promotor of the thesis “Analisi tramite spike sorting di scariche neuronali durante movimenti di raggiungimento”, Bachelor in Biotechnology, University of Bologna
- 2019 - Co-promotor of an experimental thesis titled “Ipsilateral influence in a bimanual prehension task in parietal and frontal lobes”, Master degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies, University of Bologna.
Seminars
- June 2019: WIP seminar titled: “Segregated processing of reach depth and direction in the medial part of area PE", Biomedical Sciences Group, KU Leuven (Belgium).
- February 2019: seminar titled: “MRI validation of electrophysiology targeting method”, fMRI meeting of the Research Group Neurophysiology, KU Leuven (Belgium).
- June 2018: seminar titled: “Iron chelation therapy for fMRI research applications”, fMRI meeting of the Research Group Neurophysiology, KU Leuven (Belgium).
- January 2018: seminar titled: “Joint use of a large volume illuminator and a multi-channel electrode for optogenetic applications, KU Leuven (Belgium).
Invited seminars
- March 2017: Invited seminar at the Neurobiology Laboratory of Prof Hansjörg Scherberger, German Primate Center (DPZ), Göttingen (Germany). Title: “Effect of visual feedback on grasping activity in the monkey medial parietal lobule”.
COMPLEMENTARY TRAINING
May 2021:
Specialization course on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Italian Privacy Code (Legislative Decree no. 101), and Cybersecurity
28-29/09/2020:
Primtrain workshop "Practical approach to protocol development in large laboratory animal training", Online webinar - Microsoft Teams
11/01/2019:
Primtrain workshop "Evidence based training of large laboratory animals", KU Leuven, Belgium
23/03/2018:
GitLab workshop, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
September 2017:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - “Laboratory Animal Science Course” (40 hours) in accordance with the FELASA B guidelines and the requirements indicated in Appendix III of the RD of 13 September 2004 and Appendix VII of the RD of 14 November 1993 concerning the protection of laboratory animals.
19/05/2017:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - Central Lecture Research Integrity for PhD Researches
11/02/2016:
Specialization course on the application of Legislative Decree no. 26/2014 on the use of animals for scientific and educational purposes (ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - University of Bologna).
PUBLICATIONS ON INTERNATION PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS
2021:
- Breveglieri R., Borgomaneri S., Filippini M., De Vitis M., Tessari A., Fattori P. Functional connectivity at rest between human medial posterior parietal cortex and primary motor cortex detected by paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation. Brain Sciences 2021. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11101357
- Hadjidimitrakis K.*, De Vitis M.*, Ghodrati M., Filippini M., Fattori P. Anterior-Posterior Gradient in the Integrated Processing of Forelimb Movement Direction and Distance in Macaque Parietal Cortex. Preprint SSRN, 2021, DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3919933. Under review at Cell Reports. *Equal first authors.
- De Vitis M.*, Tabanelli M.*, Breveglieri R., Filippini M., Galletti C., Fattori P.The superior parietal lobule of macaque monkey: relative influence of gaze and static arm position during reaching. Accepted at eNeuro. *Equal first authors.
- Breveglieri R., Borgomaneri S., Bosco A., Filippini M., De Vitis M., Tessari A., Avenanti A., Fattori P. rTMS over the medial parietal cortex in humans impairs online reaching corrections while keeping final adjustments unaltered. Under review at NeuroImage.
- De Vitis M., PF. Balan, C. Galletti, P. Fattori, R. Vogels, W. Vanduffel.Neural correlates of covert spatial attention shifts in the macaque superior parietal lobule. Manuscript in preparation.
2019:
- De Vitis M., Breveglieri R., Hadjidimitrakis K., Vanduffel W., Galletti C., Fattori P. The neglected medial part of macaque area PE: segregated processing of reach depth and direction. Brain Structure and Function 2019. doi: 10.1007/s00429-019-01923-8
- Fabbrini F., Van den Haute C., De Vitis M., Baekelandt V., Vanduffel W., Vogels R. Optogenetic stimulation demonstrates transsynaptic origin of repetition suppression in inferotemporal cortex. Current Biology 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.014
2018:
- Breveglieri R., De Vitis M., Bosco A., Galletti C., Fattori P. Interplay Between Grip and Vision in the Monkey Medial Parietal Lobe. Cerebral Cortex 2018. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhx109
MEETING ABSTRACTS AND SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS
2021:
- Hadjidimitrakis K., De Vitis M., Filippini M., Ghodrati M., Fattori P. Antero-posterior gradient of combined versus segregated processing of reach direction and depth signals in the macaque posterior parietal cortex. SfN Annual Meeting, Chicago (USA).
- M. Tabanelli, M. De Vitis, R. Breveglieri, C. Galletti, P. Fattori. Influence of gaze and limb positions signals on neural activity in the macaque Superior Parietal Lobule. Annual Meeting of Young Researchers in Physiology (YRP2021), Bertinoro (Italy).
- M. Tabanelli, M. De Vitis, R. Breveglieri, C. Galletti, P. Fattori. Neural correlates of eye-position and proprioception during reaching in the superior parietal lobule of the macaque. Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society (VSS), Virtual meeting.
2019:
- M. De Vitis, PF. Balan, C. Galletti, P. Fattori, R. Vogels, W. Vanduffel. fMRI guided electrophysiology of spatial attention shifts in the macaque superior parietal lobule. Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Annual Meeting, Chicago (USA). Poster presentation
- M. De Vitis, PF. Balan, C. Galletti, P. Fattori, R.Vogels, W. Vanduffel. Neural correlates of spatial attention shifts in the medial superior parietal lobule of the macaque. Joint meeting of the FEPS and the SIF societies, Bologna (Italy). Oral presentation
- R. Breveglieri, M. De Vitis, K. Hadjidimitrakis, A. Bosco, C. Galletti, P. Fattori. A trend in the degree of convergence of depth and direction signals in the medial posterior parietal cortex of the macaque. Joint meeting of the FEPS and the SIF societies, Bologna (Italy).
- Fabbrini F., Van den Haute C., De Vitis M., Baekelandt V., Vanduffel W., Vogels R.Optogenetic examination of the origin of repetition suppression in macaque temporal cortex. ECVP 2019, Leuven (Belgium).
- M. De Vitis, PF. Balan, C. Galletti, P. Fattori, R.Vogels, W. Vanduffel. Electrophysiological correlates of spatial attention shifts in the superior parietal lobule of the macaque. 13th National Congress of the BSN, Brussels (BE). Poster presentation
- Fabbrini F., Van den Haute C., De Vitis M., Baekelandt V., Vanduffel W., Vogels R.Probing the mechanisms of adaptation of macaque inferotemporal neurons with optogenetics. 13th National Congress of the BSN, Brussels (Belgium).
- Korcsak-Gorzo A., Pronold J., De Vitis M., Vanduffel W., Van Albada S. Selective Spatial Attention in a Multi-Area Model of Macaque Visual Cortex. INM Retreat 2019, Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany).
2017:
- M. De Vitis, K. Hadjidimitrakis, R. Breveglieri, A. Bosco, C. Galletti, P. Fattori. Segregated processing of reach depth and direction signals in the macaque area PE. SfN Annual Meeting, Washington D.C. (USA). Poster presentation
- P. Fattori, R. Breveglieri, M. De Vitis, A. Bosco, C. Galletti. The medial grasping area in the parietal cortex of the macaque. VSS Annual Meeting, St. Pete Beach, Florida (USA).
- M. De Vitis, R. Breveglieri, S. Briganti, A. Bosco, C. Galletti, P. Fattori. Is the contribution of visual feedback on grasping activity similar in the grasping areas of the dorsal visual stream? 12th Göttingen Meeting of the German Neuroscience Society, Göttingen (Germany). Poster presentation
- Invited seminar at the Neurobiology Laboratory of Prof Hansjörg Scherberger, German Primate Center (DPZ), Göttingen (Germany). Seminar title: “Effect of visual feedback on grasping activity in the monkey medial parietal lobule”. Oral presentation
- M. De Vitis, R. Breveglieri, P. Fattori. Area V6A e la via mediale cerebrale dell’afferramento nei primati: influenza dell’input visivo sull’azione. Retreat Scientifico FaBit 2017, Bologna (Italy). Poster presentation
2016:
- R. Breveglieri, M. De Vitis, A. Bosco, C. Galletti, P. Fattori. The dorsomedial grasping area V6A of macaque monkey: influence of the visual feed-back. SfN Annual Meeting, San Diego, California (USA).
PARTICIPATION IN REASEARCH GROUPS
2015 - present
Long-term collaboration with Prof. Patrizia Fattori Research Group of Neurophysiology of the Visuomotor System, started with the internship for my Master thesis and still ongoing.
2020 - present
Voluntary worker in Prof. Wim Vanduffel’s Research Group of Neurophysiology, KU Leuven (Belgium).
2017 - 2019
Collaboration with Prof. Wim Vanduffel’s Research Group of Neurophysiology, KU Leuven (Belgium), in the context of a Double PhD in Biomedical Sciences.
PERIODS IN INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CENTERS
December 2019 - January 2020
Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium. Project title: “Behavioral and Functional Impact of Inactivation of the Brain’s Attention Network”.
March 2017 – September 2019
Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium. Enrolled as a double-PhD student, thesis: “Functional heterogeneity of medial posterior parietal cortex of macaque monkey”. Promotor: Prof. Wim Vanduffel.
PARTICIPATION IN REASEARCH PROJECTS
2020-2024
- European Union H2020-EIC-FETPROACT-2019 951910-MAIA. “Multifunctional, adaptive and interactive AI system for Acting in multiple contexts”.Project coordinator: Prof. Patrizia Fattori.
- European Union H2020-ICT-2019-3 952026-HumanE-AI-Net. Project coordinator: Prof. Paul Lukowicz.
2019-2022
- PRIN2017 PACE 2017KZNZLN “Performing Actions in a Changing Environment”. Scientific coordinator: Prof Patrizia Fattori.
2019
- European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under Grant Agreement No 785907 (Human Brain Project SGA2).
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek-Vlaanderen: G.0007.12N Odysseus.
2016
- FIRB 2014-2017 (RBFR132BKP9) “Codifica e decodifica dei movimenti di prensione nella corteccia parietale superiore”.
AWARDS
2019
- Award (first place) for the best oral presentation in the European Young Physiologists Symposium Science Slam session of the Joint meeting of the FEPS and SIF, Bologna (Italy). Title of the presentation: “Neural correlates of spatial attention shifts in the medial superior parietal lobule of the macaque”.
- Selected oral presentation among young Physiologists within the European Federation of Physiological Societies (FEPS-SIF conference).
2018
- Marco Polo Scholarship, University of Bologna, to perform research abroad (KU Leuven, Belgium). Project title: “Behavioral and Functional Impact of Inactivation of the Brain’s Attention Network”.
PERSONAL SKILLS
Mother tongue:
Italian
Other languages:
English - full professional
Other skills:
- Good knowledge and use of personal computers and Mac, for both the hardware and the software components.
- Excellent knowledge of Windows operating systems, the operating systems Mac OS, the main browsers for surfing the Internet, the software for the management and publication of bibliographies and citations (Endnote and Mendeley) and Office package (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook).
- Good knowledge of software for the design, development and management of databases (Filemaker Pro) and graphic design software Illustrator.
- Good knowledge of programs for visualization, acquisition, and analyses of MRI/fMRI/CT data (FSLview, FSLeyes, Freeview, MRIcron, SPM toolbox for Matlab, Freesurfer, JIP toolbox).
- Good knowledge of the numerical computing environment and programming language Matlab, of the system-design platform "Labview" and of the operating system MS-DOS and GNU for Linux.
