Biography

EDUCATION
She hold her degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry in 2003 (summa cum laude) and Ph.D. degree in Developmental Neuroscience at University of Pisa; title of thesis: “Action of botulinum neurotoxins in the central nervous system”. Supervisors: Dr. M. Caleo and Y. Bozzi.

SCIENTIFIC CAREER
- April 2019: Associate Professor of Pharmacology (SSD: Bio/14)
- April 2016 - March 2019: Assistant Professor
- 2012- 2016: Researcher at University of Milan.
- 07/2011 - 02/2012: Research fellow - post doctoral fellow - Fondazione Filarete Milano -lab of Michela Matteoli.
- 07/2009 - 06/2011: Research fellow - post doctoral fellow - University of Milan - lab of Michela Matteoli.
- 10/2008 - 06/2009: Research fellow - post doctoral fellow - Politecnico di Milano
- 09/2007- 12/2007: Research fellow at "Life & Brain" - University di Bonn–Award Scholarship-Germany

SCIENTIFIC INTEREST
Flavia Antonucci is a neuro-pharmacologist with scientific experience in neuroscience and technical skills in “in vitro” and ”in vivo” electrophysiology. In the past, research activity of Dr. Antonucci has been aimed at assessing the anti-epileptic effects of Botulinum Neurotoxins (BoNTs). BoNT/A and BoNT/E, in particular, are bacterial enzymes that exert a long-lasting blockade of synaptic transmission by the specific cleavage of SNAP-25. Her studies demonstrate that BoNT/E injected into the mouse hippocampus blocks spiking activity of pyramidal neurons, prevents hippocampal neuronal loss induced by seizures and has potent anticonvulsant effects on kainic acid-induced seizures as documented by both electrographic and behavioral analysis (Antonucci et al 2008a, Experimental Neurology; Antonucci et al 2009, Epilepsia). Studying potential application of BoNT/A as a more potent anticonvulsant respect to BoNT/E, since its longer duration of action, she found that BoNT/A, which is commonly used in aesthetic surgery to remove facial wrinkles, undergoes a retrograde transport in the central nervous system, showing a new potential side effects of this widely used toxin (Antonucci et al 2008b, Journal of Neuroscience).
She characterized a new experimental tool to selectively manipulate GABAergic neurotransmission. Thus in collaboration with Tibor Harkany and Wolfgan Hartig, she evaluated rearrangement of the hippocampal circuitry and functional consequences associated to the selective elimination of GABAergic interneurons into the mouse hippocampus (Antonucci et al 2012, Journal of Neuroscience). In parallel, she evaluated the role of microglia-derived microvescicles in altering neuronal communication by the promotion of an inflammatory environment in the brain (Antonucci et al 2012, EMBO Journal) and also linked to neuronal degeneration.
Since many years, she is interested in identifying cellular alterations associated to neurological and psychiatric diseases produced by genetic alterations and environmental factors. In fact, she characterized electrophysiological alterations occurred in neurons obtained by SNAP-25+/- mice, where the SNAP25 gene has been associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia.
Also, she started a new line of research regarding a novel function of the kinase ATM in controlling hippocampal neuronal development (Pizzamiglio et al and Antonucci, 2016, Cerebral Cortex; Pizzamiglio et al, 2020, Cells) and psychiatric conditions (Pizzamiglio et al and Antonucci, 2021, Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight). She is currently investigating this line of research.

In 2016 she received the National Prize: “Young Researcher 2016” conferred by the Italian Society of Physiology.