Simona Lodato obtained her Ph.D. in 2011 from the European School of Molecular Medicine (SEMM) and the University 鈥淔ederico II鈥�, in Naples (Italy) under the supervision of Prof. Mich茅le Studer at the Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM). During her Ph.D. training she investigated the intrinsic molecular mechanisms controlling the generation of distinct classes of inhibitory interneurons (IN) of the developing mammalian cerebral cortex. She then joined the group of Prof. Paola Arlotta at Harvard University in Cambridge (USA) where she shed light on fundamental aspects of the molecular principles that govern the acquisition of distinct subtype-specific projection neuron (PN) identity, focusing in particular on corticospinal motor neurons 鈥� CSMN 鈥� that degenerate in ALS and in other motor disorders. She also discovered that the PN identity influences the migration of INs in the developing cortex, controlling the assembly of functional networks in the adult brain. Since December 2016, she is member of the Next Generation Leader Advisory Council, a group of eighteen esteemed early-career scientists who act as scientific advisors for the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
Complex brain functions and critical behaviors such as language, learning, movement, and emotions are executed by highly sophisticated and stereotyped neural networks, which are composed by an outstanding array of distinct neuronal subtypes that populate the cerebral cortex.
In our lab, we aim at understanding:
- How distinct classes of excitatory projection neurons (PN) and inhibitory interneurons (IN) are generated during development from a defined pool of multi-potent stem cells/progenitors;
- How PN and IN subtypes coordinate their migratory routes and populate the different layers and areas of the cerebral cortex;
- How their subtype-specific identity influences their assembly into specific functional microcircuits, which are often targets of numerous neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, like epilepsy and Autism Disorders.
SCOPUS Author ID: 36021173000
- Lodato S# and Arlotta P# (# corresponding author) 鈥� Annual Review of Cellular and Developmental Biology 2015, 31, 699-720 Impact Factor: 17.96
- Lodato S, Shetty AS, Arlotta P 鈥� . Trends in Neurosciences 2015, 38, 117-125 Impact Factor: 12.504
- Lodato S, Molyneaux BJ, Zuccaro E, Goff LA, Chen HH, Yaun W, Meleski AM, Takahashi E, Mahony S, Rinn JL, Gifford D, Arlotta P 鈥� Nature Neuroscience 2014, 17, 1046-1054 With 鈥淣ews and Views鈥� article and highlighted by Faculty of 1000. Impact Factor: 16.724
- Sauvageau M#, Goff LA#, Lodato S#, Bonev B, Groff AF, Gerhardinger C, Sanchez-Gomez DB, Hacisuleyman E, Li E, Spence M, Liapis SC, Mallard W, Morse M, Swerdel MR, D鈥橢cclessis MF, Moore JC, Lai V, Gong G, Yancopoulos GD, Frendewey D, Kellis M, Hart RP, Valenzuela DM, Arlotta P, Rinn JL (# equal contribution) 鈥� eLife 2013, 2, e01749 Impact Factor: 8.303
- Lodato S, Rouaux C, Quast K, Jantrachotechatchawan C, Hensch T and Arlotta P 鈥撀犅燦euron聽2011, 69, 763-779 With 鈥淧review鈥� article and highlighted by聽Faculty of 1000.