Clara Ballerini

Biography

CURRICULUM VITAE Name : Clara BALLERINI Date of Birth: 24/03/1961, Florence, ITALY STATE: divorced, one daughter, Virginia, 22 yrs old Professional address: Department of NEUROFARBA Lab. Neuroimmunology, Complesso Polivalente Viale Pieraccini, 6 50139 Firenze, Italy University Master II level in Biomedical journalism, University of Florence, 2007 PhD in Neurosciences, University of Florence, 1999 Doctor in Natural Sciences, University of Florence, 1989 Languages: English, fluent; French, fluent; German, basic level Research structures: 1990-91 CITFI (national pharmacological consortium) fellowship and funds for training period at the Neuroimmunology Unit, Harvard, Boston (MA). Director Stephen Hauser 1992-95 AISM (Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society) fellowship on Multiple Sclerosis 1995-99 PhD in Neurosciences 1999- 2012 Research assistant at the University of Florence 2002-2003 Poste Vert INSERM, Paris 2003-2004 Post-doc UPMC (Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie), Paris VI 2012-2018 Researcher type a) University of Florence, Department NEUROFARBA Ad hoc referee for: Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences Cytotherapy Israel Science Foundation Nanomedicine National Medical Research Council Singapore Journal of the Neurological Sciences Journal of Neurology Scientific Committee FISM Stem Cells Coordinator of diagnostic activity in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) laboratory – Neurological Clinic University of Florence– (from 2000 to 2012) FISM 2014-2016 Member of the Research Council AINI 2016-2019 Advisor Steering Comittee

Research Interest

Over the years CB has progressively evolved from a humanistic education to a full time research activity in the field of neuroimmunology. CB interests have ranged from scientific literature and journalism, to laboratory activity including teaching, publication of original papers, participation to scientific forums and clinical duties (diagnostic activity in the field of neurology). From 1990 CB has been involved in medical research, particularly in the study of the immunological and genetic aspects of two neurological diseases: Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, with special interest for multiple sclerosis. CB organized and supervised the formation of a biological tissue bank for DNA and Cells collected from more than 400 multiple sclerosis patients distributed in Italy with the collaboration of seven national university neurological centers. This collaboration provided CB the opportunity to study the genetic aspects of susceptibility to multiple sclerosis with the identification of several associated alleles. On the other hand CB has been also investigating the immunological aspects of multiple sclerosis studying the T cell phenotype in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) cell populations, utilizing MoAb and cytofluorimetry methods and investigating the main characteristics of T cells as proliferation properties, cytokine production, antigen specificity, cytotoxicity. CB research activity involved also the study of the animal model of multiple sclerosis: experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Recently CB has been investigating the functional study of T cell together with the molecular analysis of the T cell receptor repertoire. From 2002 to 2004 CB has been post doc at E209 INSERM, Paris under the direction of Pierre Aucutourier and the supervision of Claude Carnaud focusing her research on prion disease and immune system. During her work at INSERM, she has investigated the role of prion protein at the immunological synapse between T cell and dendritic cell, the role in CNS during EAE and she has investigated the possibility to brake immune tolerance to prion protein in mouse and she developed a protocol to immunize mice with dendritic cells as a tool for prion disease therapy. In all the projects where CB participates she achieves expected scientific results. From 2004 CB was back at the Neuroimmunology Unit of University of Florence, she starts working on the possibility to modulate dendritic cell (DC) function from immunogenic to tolerogenic as possible therapy in CNS autoimmune diseases. She is group leader coordinating three persons on different projects and collaborating with several units. Recent studies reveal striking parallels between cellular signaling mechanisms in the immune (IS) and nervous systems (CNS) that may provide unexpected insights into the development, function, and diseases of both systems. Therefore, CB focused her experience, knowledge and skills into project concerning biological and physical properties shared between CNS cells and IS with particular interest on dual role of inflammation, view as a cross talk between the two systems, in CNS during neurological diseases. In this perspective, CB collaborations permit her to investigate the role of histamine and histamine receptors on EAE and a more recently on DCs, cell cytoskeleton and T lymphocytes polarization. Furthermore, CB collaboration with Laura Ballerini, SISSA Trieste Italy, widened her research field into nanotechnology, with two recent publications on carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles; both materials placed in a prospective of translation into neurological disease theranostic and into understanding immune central nervous system damage. Recently, CB collaboration with Cosima Tatiana Baldari, University of Siena, permits her to investigate the signal adaptor of T cell receptor signaling (SchA,Rai) role in astrocytes during EAE. Finally, CB extended her competence in neuroimmunology and immunological markers investigating possible role of immune cell and inflammation in psychiatric diseases in order to identify possible new biomarkers of disease and response to therapies. To this aim CB is coordinating, in collaboration with the Psychiatric Unit at the Careggi University Hospital (Florence) a project based on methanalysis and revision of data regarding immunological alterations during specific psychiatric disorders.