Curriculum in PDF: English CV

The brain is a network of neuronal connections surrounded by a scaffold of glial cells with a multitude of crucial functions. A specific type of glial cells, astrocytes, are emerging as modulating factors in diverse brain diseases. Civiero studies how astrocytes contribute to the removal of unwanted and neurotoxic molecules in an effort to maintain brain homeostasis. Her discoveries will help manipulating this function for therapeutic purposes. She is employing a plethora of in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo approaches to unravel the molecular mechanisms behind astrocyte dysfunction and to screen drugs in a high throughput fashion.

Project 1: Identification of glia biomarkers in brain diseases; Project 2: Unraveling the molecular mechanisms of glia-mediated phagocytic clearance; Project 3: Targeting glia reactivity in a model of neurodegeneration