Prof. Dr. Mariarosa Anna Beatrice Melone

Mariarosa A. B. Melone is Professor of Neurology at University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Naples and Director of CIRN (Interuniversity Research Centre on Neurosciences). After graduating with honors in Medicine in 1977, she obtained her specialization in Neurology in 1981 at University of Napoli. After a long clinical training and repeated research stays in Paris, first in myopathology (CNRS‐Institut de Myologie, Pitié‐ Salpêtrière Université Paris‐6), and then in neurochemistry and cellular and molecular neurobiology (École Normale Supérieure and Institut Pasteur), she came back to Italy, where she continued her clinical activity in the field of rare neurological diseases and neurobiological research focused on the development of experimental models for the study of pathogenetic mechanisms of myo and neurodegenerative diseases, also studying the in vitro and in vivo stem cell behavior. Currently, her research is focused on Epigenetics‐ Environment‐Neurodegenerative Diseases interactions and on collaborative projects for the synthesis of biomolecules as potential drugs (e.g., antisense oligonucleotides, short sequences of RNA inhibitors, aptamers), and functional/molecular analysis of new bioactive compounds effective in neurodegenerative and rare diseases (Rett's syndrome, Huntington's disease, leukodystrophy) and tumor genetic syndromes (neurofibromatosis). Author of more than 200 scientific manuscripts.