PeerJ recently sponsored a Best ECR Poster award at the XVI edition of the Congress of the Italian Federation of Life Sciences (FISV), which took place from 14 to 16 September 2022 in Naples, Italy. The federation is composed of twenty Italian Scientific Societies, representing different aspects of the Life Sciences. Internationally renowned scientists from Italy and abroad presented their most recent data, and there were a number of round table discussions on selected hot topics as well as talks dedicated to a broader audience to enhance the interaction between scientists and non-scientists.
We recently caught up with Giulia Magni, the winner of the Award, to discuss her research.
Giulia Magni Post-doc fellow at the Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?
My postdoctoral research activity is focused on the study of the non-neuronal regulation of pain transmission pathways, both in the central and peripheral nervous system, and on the molecular mechanisms underlying this regulation in several in vivo models of trigeminal pain and migraine, including an inflammatory trigeminal pain model and an experimental model of multiple sclerosis (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, EAE) in which trigeminal pain represents a significant comorbidity. I have a strong motivation, interest for research, easiness in approaching the lab work and in learning new techniques. Moreover, I have spent a significant period of time abroad, in Europe and in the Unites States, and I love to interact with different persons and environments.
What first interested you in this field of research?
My interest in this field of research raised from the perspective to employ nutraceutical compounds, such as anthocyanins, for the treatment of complex disorders of the central nervous system.
Can you briefly explain the research you presented at the FISV Congress?
The aim of my project was to investigate whether an anthocyanin-enriched purple corn dietary supplement can exert beneficial effects on trigeminal pain associated to multiple sclerosis and on the onset and progression of the disease. In an animal model of the disease I have demonstrated that, thanks to gut anthocyanin metabolism, purple corn positively influences the progression of multiple sclerosis motor symptoms and protects from associated trigeminal pain through multiple mechanisms.
How will you continue to build on this research?
My next steps will be to administer purple corn dietary supplement to patients as an adjuvant approach to multiple sclerosis and associated symptoms to reduce drug dosage and side effects.