Biography

Dr. De Paola’s scientific research aims to elucidate the regulation of neural network connectivity and function in the neocortex, a brain region critically impacted in developmental, degenerative, and acute neurological conditions, many of which remain incurable. His team is at the forefront of creating advanced in vivo human cellular models to study complex genetic neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Down syndrome. Their work specifically investigates the synaptic life cycle—encompassing synapse formation, elimination, and regeneration—as well as the mechanisms underlying axon degeneration and repair.

To achieve these goals, the team integrates cutting-edge approaches, including human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models, structural and functional imaging of in vivo self-assembled human cortical circuitry (as demonstrated in Real et al., 2018, complemented with human-derived microglia), and state-of-the-art molecular and computational biology techniques.

Dr. De Paola’s pioneering contributions have provided fundamental insights into neuronal circuit dynamics and synaptic plasticity. His research produced some of the first dynamic observations of synapse formation, elimination, and regeneration in the living mammalian brain. Building on these foundational discoveries, his current work seeks to influence broader fields by applying advanced human in vivo models to address synaptic and circuit dysfunction in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Down syndrome.

Dr. De Paola earned his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology at the University of Basel, Switzerland, under the mentorship of Dr. Pico Caroni at the Friedrich Miescher Institut, part of the Novartis Foundation. Following his doctoral studies, he was awarded an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship to work with Dr. Karel Svoboda at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA.
In 2007, Dr. De Paola joined Imperial College London as an Assistant Professor and became an Honorary Group Leader at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences in 2008, where he was awarded an MRC Programme Grant to lead the Neuroplasticity and Disease Group. He was promoted to a tenured position within the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London in 2013. In 2021, Dr. De Paola relocated to Singapore as a full-time Visiting Professor in the Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School.