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Laura Cancedda
Summary
Dr. Cancedda graduated in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Genoa in 1999, with a thesis on the role of neurotrophic factors on neurotransmitter release. She received her Ph.D. in neurophysiology from Scuola Normale Superiore in 2003, under the supervision of Dr. Lamberto Maffei. In Pisa, she investigated the molecular and environmental basis of experience-dependent plasticity in the rat brain. In 2003, she moved to University of California at Berkeley in Dr. Poo’s laboratory where she focused on molecular mechanisms of GABAergic-transmission modulation. Starting in 2006, she has also started a collaboration on a project aimed at studying early determinants of neuronal polarization.
Currently, she holds a team-leader position at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa and a scientist position at the Telethon Dulbecco Institute. Laura is also a scholar of the FENS KAVLI network of excellence. Her research focuses on the role of extracellular factors such as GABA in neurogenesis, migration and morphological maturation of cortical neurons under physiological as well as pathological conditions.