Project Title: Investigating the interplay between circadian clocks and mTOR signalling in microglia and its disruption in neurodegeneration
Supervisor: Dr Marco Brancaccio
Location: Level 5, Burlington Danes Building, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, W12 0NN
About Me
I am a PhD student in the Brancaccio laboratory in the Department of Brain Sciences at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, funded by the UK Dementia Research Institute. My project is focused on investigating the interplay between circadian clocks and the hTau accumulation in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN).
I became fascinated by neuroscience during my Bachelor in Biotechnology, when my cellular biology professor, a scholar of Nobel laureate Rita Levi Montalcini, introduced us to her discoveries in the field of neurobiology. From there I continued my journey in science with an MSc in Neuroscience at the University of Trieste, and then joined the Brancaccio Lab for my Master's thesis project as a visiting student at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø. Here I started investigating the circadian regulation of inflammatory protein CD68 in microglia cells.
When not thinking about science, I love to plan hiking adventures and explore the outdoors!
Qualifications
- MSc Neuroscience (Distinction), University of Trieste
- BSc Biotechnology, University of Bologna
Research Interests
My main research focus is on the characterisation of circadian dysfunction in a novel model of taupathy, expressing human Tau protein in the SCN. I am interested in dissecting the contribution of neurons to circadian rhythms and how their function is impacted by tau accumulation.
In my project I will combine in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo techniques to try and dissect the mechanisms leading to circadian dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases.
Conferences
- UK Clock Club (Talk, best talk runner up) 2025
- Interdivision Symposium, ICL (talk) 2025
- SRBR (Poster, Merit prize) 2024
- Connectome (poster, 2022) 2021-2024
Contact Details
Email: m.ferrari20@imperial.ac.uk
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