Curriculum Vitae
1981- Degree in Medicine and Surgery, University “La Sapienza”, Rome
1985- Specialization in Neurology, University “La Sapienza”, Rome
1984 - 1985: Post-doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institut (Dept. Neurophysiology, Director Prof. H. D. Lux), Munich, Germany
1988: Post-doctoral fellow at the Oregon Health Science University – Vollum Institute – Lab. Neuropharmacology (Director Prof. R. A. North), Portland (Oregon), U. S. A.
1986 – 1998: Assistant Professor in Neurology – University Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
1988 – 2004: Professor of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology at the School of Neurology - University Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
1991 – 2001: Co-ordinator of the Clinical Group for the Study of the Movement Disorders at the Sant’Eugenio Hospital – University Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
1999 – 2004: Associate Professor in Neurology – University Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
2005 - present: Director of Neurophysiology Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
2005 - present: Full Professor of Neurology and Chairman of Neurology at the University of Perugia, Italy.
Honours and awards
1983. European Science Foundation Fellowship
1987. Farmitalia Prize for Neurology 1987. C. N. R. Grant for Travel Fellowship
1992 – 1996: External Reviewer for the “Human Frontier Science Program Organisation”
1995 – 2001 Member for the Italian C. N. R. at the International Brain Research Organisation
1997, Italian Neuroscience Association Prize for Basic and Clinical Research in Neuroscience
2002 – Present: Elected Corresponding Member of the American Neurological Association.
General administrative and organisational experience
During his carrier, he has obtained several grants from: European Community, Telethon, Italian Minister of Education, Italian Minister of Health. He has been Coordinator of European Networks on brain plasticity and neurodegenerative diseases; some of these networks have been granted by the European Community. He has organized several international meetings and congresses on Biomarkers of Neurodegenerative diseases and on preclinical and clinical aspects of Parkinson’s disease. He has been associated editor of the Journal Neuroscience (Neurobiology of Disease) and member of the editorial board of Movement Disorders. At present, he is member of the editorial board of Lancet Neurology. He is coordinating a research group of preclinical and clinical scientists including about 50 members. He is one of the “top italian scientists” (HI 84) and has published more than 300 papers in leading international journals.
Research interests
In the last two decades, Prof. Calabresi’s research has investigated the synaptic communication between the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia, focussing on corticostriatal synapses and their activity-dependent plasticity. In particular, Prof. Calabresi’s group has extensively investigated how corticostriatal communication depends on the activation of dopamine receptors and how it is affected by pathological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. The research group coordinated by Prof. Calabresi has been the first, in 1992, to describe a novel form of striatal synaptic plasticity, named long-term-depression (LTD). This vital feature of corticostriatal synapses has then be synaptic plasticity, named long-term-depression (LTD). This vital feature of corticostriatal synapses has then been fully characterised by Prof Calabresi’s group from a pharmacological and electrophysiological point of view.
Selected publications
1: Calabresi P, Pisani A, Rothwell J, Ghiglieri V, Obeso JA, Picconi B. Hyperkinetic disorders and loss of synaptic downscaling. Nat Neurosci. 2016 Jun 28; 19(7) :868-75.
2: Tozzi A, de Iure A, Bagetta V, Tantucci M, Durante V, Quiroga-Varela A, Costa C, Di Filippo M, Ghiglieri V, Latagliata EC, Wegrzynowicz M, Decressac M, Giampà C, Dalley JW, Xia J, Gardoni F, Mellone M, El-Agnaf OM, Ardah MT, Puglisi-Allegra S, Björklund A, Spillantini MG, Picconi B, Calabresi P. Alpha-Synuclein Produces Early Behavioral Alterations via Striatal Cholinergic Synaptic Dysfunction by Interacting With GluN2D N-Methyl-DAspartate Receptor Subunit. Biol Psychiatry. 2016 Mar 1; 79(5) :402-14.
3: Calabresi P, Picconi B, Tozzi A, Ghiglieri V, Di Filippo M. Direct and indirect pathways of basal ganglia: a critical reappraisal. Nat Neurosci. 2014 Aug; 17(8) :1022-30.
4: Calabresi P, Castrioto A, Di Filippo M, Picconi B. New experimental and clinical links between the hippocampus and the dopaminergic system in Parkinson's disease. Lancet Neurol. 2013 Aug; 12(8) :811-21.
5: Costa C, Sgobio C, Siliquini S, Tozzi A, Tantucci M, Ghiglieri V, Di Filippo M, Pendolino V, de Iure A, Marti M, Morari M, Spillantini MG, Latagliata EC, Pascucci T, Puglisi-Allegra S, Gardoni F, Di Luca M, Picconi B, Calabresi P. Mechanisms underlying the impairment of hippocampal long-term potentiation and memory in experimental Parkinson's disease. Brain. 2012 Jun; 135(Pt 6) :1884-99.
6: Tozzi A, de Iure A, Di Filippo M, Tantucci M, Costa C, Borsini F, Ghiglieri V, Giampà C, Fusco FR, Picconi B, Calabresi P. The distinct role of medium spiny neurons and cholinergic interneurons in the D₂/A₂A receptor interaction in the striatum: implications for Parkinson's disease. J Neurosci. 2011 Feb 2; 31(5) :1850-62
7: Calabresi P, Di Filippo M, Ghiglieri V, Tambasco N, Picconi B. Levodopa-induced dyskinesias in patients with Parkinson's disease: filling the bench-to-bedside gap. Lancet Neurol. 2010 Nov; 9(11) :1106-17.
8: Calabresi P, Picconi B, Tozzi A, Di Filippo M. Dopamine-mediated regulation of corticostriatal synaptic plasticity. Trends Neurosci. 2007 May; 30(5) :211-9.
9: Goldberg MS, Pisani A, Haburcak M, Vortherms TA, Kitada T, Costa C, Tong Y, Martella G, Tscherter A, Martins A, Bernardi G, Roth BL, Pothos EN, Calabresi P, Shen J. Nigrostriatal dopaminergic deficits and hypokinesia caused by inactivation of the familial Parkinsonism-linked gene DJ-1. Neuron. 2005 Feb 17; 45(4) :489-96.
10: Picconi B, Centonze D, Håkansson K, Bernardi G, Greengard P, Fisone G, Cenci MA, Calabresi P. Loss of bidirectional striatal synaptic plasticity in L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. Nat Neurosci. 2003 May; 6(5) :501-6.
