Silvia Fossati, PhD
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Affiliation(s):
Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine
ORCID URL:
Areas of Interest:
Neurovascular degeneration, mitochondrial dysfunction, blood brain barrier, Abeta oligomers, Alzheimer's disease; neurodegeneration; vascular disease; acute care; critically ill patient
Biography & Research:
I am an Associate Professor of Pharmacology ad the Associate Director of the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine. From early in my career, I have been strongly committed to understanding the molecular pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. My current research interests focus on clarifying the molecular mechanisms of cell death/stress underlying the causes of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA), with particular emphasis on mitochondrial dysfunction, deregulation of apoptotic factors, stress/death of cells that compose the neurovascular unit, and blood-brain barrier dysfunction. I identified common pathways of cell stress in endothelial, neuronal and glial cells, unveiling new targets for drug discovery and new compounds able to rescue neurovascular cells from mitochondrial-mediated cell death in AD, such as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. More recently, I have also dedicated my research efforts to understanding the molecular and neurovascular link between Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and AD. I have obtained many awards as Principal Investigator, including NIH-R01s, American Heart Association, and Alzheimer’s Association awards. Along with my basic and translational studies in AD and related dementias, I am dedicated to advancing the discovery and validation of peripheral biomarkers for AD, Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) and TBI, using novel and highly sensitive technologies such as the Quanterix Simoa.
