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Alessandro Gozzi

Senior Scientist
Senior Researcher Tenured - Principal Investigator
Functional Neuroimaging
Address
Research center
Interests
Biografia

After receiving a master degree in Biotechnology at the University of Verona (Italy) in 1998, I joined the neuroscience centre of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a research-based pharmaceutical company based in Verona (Italy) and Harlow (UK). There I pioneered the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in rodents to describe the neural substrates modulated by pharmacological agents, a line of research that I also pursued to obtain a PhD degree in biomedical imaging with the University of Verona. During my years at GSK I took on roles of increasing responsibility, and developed a strong background in MRI, neurocomputation and neuropharmacology, as well as in the application of translational approaches to study neuropsychiatric brain disorders.

In 2010 I joined the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (first in Pisa, next in Rovereto), where I lead the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory (https://www.iit.it/it/web/functional-neuroimaging). The lab is equipped with a 7 Tesla small-animal MRI scanner for in vivo imaging. During my research activity, I have described the circuital substrates modulated by centrally-active pharmacological agents in multiple areas of experimental neuroscience (e.g. schizophrenia, depression, drug addiction etc.) and identified functional and structural alterations in different rodent models of brain pathology. More recently, I established methods to map functional connectivity in the mouse brain and to perturb it with cell-type specificity (chemogenetic-fMRI), laying the foundations of a novel field of translational research that is now pursued by an increasing number of laboratories. 

Our investigations of the mouse functional connectome have identified mouse homologues of the human default-mode (DMN) and salience networks, allowing to characterize signatures of disrupted connectivity associated to several autism-risk genes. My current research is primarily focused on the investigation of the functional architecture of the mammalian brain at the macroscale, using the mouse as a physiologically-accessible model organism. Leveraging funding from the European Research Council (ERC, #Disconn), we are currently using perturbational approaches (i.e. chemogenetics, optogenetics, genetic conditioning) to investigate the elusive neural basis of connectivity disruption in developmental disorders such as autism, or schizophrenia. A major goal of our research is to use functional network systems as a novel translational language that can be related to cognitive processes and neuropathological traits across-species.

Website of my lab: https://www.iit.it/it/web/functional-neuroimaging

Education

Title: B.Sc. Biotechnology (5 year program)
Institute: University of Verona
Location: Verona
Country: Italy
From: 1993 To: 1999

Title: PhD, Biomedical Imaging
Institute: University of Verona
Location: Verona
Country: Italy
From: 2008 To: 2011

Top Publications
2022
Rocchi F., Canella C., Noei S., Gutierrez-Barragan D., Coletta L., Galbusera A., Stuefer A., Vassanelli S., Pasqualetti M., Iurilli G., Panzeri S., Gozzi A.
Increased fMRI connectivity upon chemogenetic inhibition of the mouse prefrontal cortex
Nature Communications, vol. 13, (no. 1)
2022
Gutierrez-Barragan D., Singh N.A., Alvino F.G., Coletta L., Rocchi F., De Guzman E., Galbusera A., Uboldi M., Panzeri S., Gozzi A.
Unique spatiotemporal fMRI dynamics in the awake mouse brain
Current Biology, vol. 32, (no. 3), pp. 631-644.e6
2021
Zerbi V., Pagani M., Markicevic M., Matteoli M., Pozzi D., Fagiolini M., Bozzi Y., Galbusera A., Scattoni M.L., Provenzano G., Banerjee A., Helmchen F., Basson M.A., Ellegood J., Lerch J.P., Rudin M., Gozzi A., Wenderoth N.
Brain mapping across 16 autism mouse models reveals a spectrum of functional connectivity subtypes
Molecular Psychiatry, vol. 26, (no. 12), pp. 7610-7620
2021
Pagani M., Barsotti N., Bertero A., Trakoshis S., Ulysse L., Locarno A., Miseviciute I., De Felice A., Canella C., Supekar K., Galbusera A., Menon V., Tonini R., Deco G., Lombardo M.V., Pasqualetti M., Gozzi A.
mTOR-related synaptic pathology causes autism spectrum disorder-associated functional hyperconnectivity
Nature Communications, vol. 12, (no. 1)
2021
Whitesell J.D., Liska A., Coletta L., Hirokawa K.E., Bohn P., Williford A., Groblewski P.A., Graddis N., Kuan L., Knox J.E., Ho A., Wakeman W., Nicovich P.R., Nguyen T.N., van Velthoven C.T.J., Garren E., Fong O., Naeemi M., Henry A.M., Dee N., Smith K.A., Levi B., Feng D., Ng L., Tasic B., Zeng H., Mihalas S., Gozzi A., Harris J.A.
Regional, Layer, and Cell-Type-Specific Connectivity of the Mouse Default Mode Network
Neuron, vol. 109, (no. 3), pp. 545-559.e8
Awards and Achievements
2023
Stuefer A., Balasco L., Gini S., Coletta L., Rocchi F., Montani C., Alvino F.G., Sastre D., Galbusera A., Aldrighetti M., Mandrup Bertozzi S., Lau Poui Cheung P., Vozzi D., Papaleo F., Iurilli G., Armirotti A., Cancedda L., Lombardo M., Bozzi Y., Gozzi A.
Towards a chronobiological reconceptualization of the excitatory/inhibitory imbalance theory for autism: insights from chemogenetic studies in rodents
2023
Stuefer A., Balasco L., Gini S., Coletta L., Rocchi F., Montani C., Alvino F.G., Sastre D., Galbusera A., Aldrighetti M., Mandrup Bertozzi S., Lau Poui Cheung P., Vozzi D., Papaleo F., Iurilli G., Armirotti A., Cancedda L., Lombardo M., Bozzi Y., Gozzi A.
Transient neocortical excitatory / inhibitory imbalance during early infancy leads to permanent social impairments
2018
Gozzi A.
ERC Starting Grant, Neural basis of functional disconnectivity in brain disorders - DisConn, 2019-2024
2017
Gozzi A.
NARSAD Indpendent Investigator Grant 2017
2016
Gozzi A.
Simmons Foundation for Autism Research (SFARI) explorer award (2016)