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Annalisa Scimemi

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Annalisa Scimemi
2024
OccupationNeuroscientist
TitleAssociate Professor
Academic background
EducationB.S., Università di Pisa, Italy Ph.D.,Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, Italy
Alma materhttps://www.sissa.it/
Academic advisorsJohn G. Nicholls, Enrico Cherubini, Dimitri M. Kullmann, Jeffrey S. Diamond
Academic work
DisciplineNeuroscience
InstitutionsState University of New York at Albany

National Institutes of Health

University College London
Websitehttps://sites.google.com/site/scimemilab2013/home https://www.albany.edu/biology/faculty/annalisa-scimemi

Annalisa Scimemi (born 1974) is a neuroscientist on the faculty of the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY).

Early life and education

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Born in Tuscany in 1974, Annalisa Scimemi studied Biological Sciences at the Università di Pisa (1993–1998) as a first-generation college student.[1][2] Her undergraduate thesis focused on the biophysical properties of calcium activated potassium channels in human erythrocytes in Steinert disease.[2] Scimemi earned her Ph.D. in Biophysics from the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA/ISAS) in Trieste, Italy in 2001, studying the development of rhythmic circuits underlying locomotor-like behaviors in the opossum Monodelphis domestica, under the supervision of John G. Nicholls and Enrico Cherubini.[2]

Career

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In 2002, Scimemi joined the lab of Dimitri M. Kullmann at University College London.[3] At UCL, Scimemi studied central synapses and neurotransmitter spillover, working with Dimitri M. Kullmann, Dmitri A. Rusakov, Matthew C. Walker, and others.[4][5][6][7][8]

In 2005, Scimemi moved to the United States to join the lab of Jeffrey S. Diamond at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.[1] She continued to study hippocampal synapses, analyzing more specifically at the role of neuronal and astrocytic glutamate transporters in regulating inter-synaptic cross-talk.[1][3] After earning an appointment as Research Fellow at NIH in 2010, she studied how the spatial distribution of calcium channels in the presynaptic active zone affects glutamate release at hippocampal synapses.[9] She also started new collaborations that branched her research focus to Alzheimer's disease.[10][11]

Scimemi joined the faculty of the Department of Biology at SUNY Albany in 2013 and became an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics in 2015. She became an Associate Professor in 2019. In her lab, she aims to identify how neurons and astrocytes regulate encoding of spatial information and reward-based behaviors in health and disease.[12][13][14][15]

Since 2017, she has served as an instructor for the summer course, Ion Channels in Synaptic & Neural Circuit Physiology, at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.[16] Her scientific interests, though rooted in synaptic physiology, branch to other fields of neuroscience including systems neuroscience, which she fueled during her sabbatical in the lab of Bernardo Sabatini at Harvard Medical School.[citation needed]

Research

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Scimemi studies the functional properties of central synapses and how they are tuned by non-neuronal cells called astrocytes in neuropsychiatric disorders, using techniques such as electrophysiology, optogenetics, two-photon laser scanning microscopy, and reaction-diffusion computer simulations.[2][17] Her works provide insights into how synaptic transmission changes in the hippocampus with circadian cycles.[2]

Scimemi's software "NRN-EZ" providing easy access to biophysical modeling of neurons (allowing distribution of synaptic inputs onto digitally reconstructed neurons)[18] was described in one of Scientific Reports' 100 most-downloaded research studies in 2023.[19]

Awards, honors, and service

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  • 2023: Honorary Award for Distinguished Public Engagement from SUNY Albany.[20]
  • 2023: Awarded grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke, for her research on neuronal circuits in spatial map representation, titled Presynaptic Modulation of Synaptic Inhibition onto Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons.[21]
  • 2022: Awarded grant from the National Institute on Aging to study molecular and cellular processes that contribute to Alzheimer's disease onset.[22]
  • 2020: Awarded grant from the National Science Foundation to understand the effect of circadian rhythms on hippocampal function.[23]
  • 2015–present: Scimemi serves as the President for the Society for Neuroscience Hudson-Berkshire Chapter.[24]
  • 2020 - 2022: The board of the Organization for Computational NeuroScience (OCNS)[25] appointed her to serve on the OCNS Program Committee.[26][27][28]
  • 2013: Scimemi chaired the Nanosymposium on Presynaptic Dynamics of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.[3][29]
  • 2013: Grass Imaging Award from The Grass Foundation.[3]
  • 2012: Invited speaker at the Gordon Research Conference on Synaptic Transmission.[3]
  • 2005: Young Investigator Award from the International League Against Epilepsy.[3]

Selected publications

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Rosenwald, Michael S. (September 4, 2006). "Odd Jobs That Keep The Area Humming - The Brain Slicer". The Washington Post. pp. D:1. ProQuest 410064132.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ribic, Adema. "Episode 22: Annalisa Scimemi, PhD". Conjugate: Illustration and Science Blog. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Loop | Annalisa Scimemi". loop.frontiersin.org. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  4. ^ Scimemi, Annalisa; Fine, Alan; Kullmann, Dimitri M.; Rusakov, Dmitri A. (2004-05-19). "NR2B-containing receptors mediate cross talk among hippocampal synapses". The Journal of Neuroscience: The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 24 (20): 4767–4777. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0364-04.2004. ISSN 1529-2401. PMC 3379686. PMID 15152037.
  5. ^ Rusakov, D.A.; Scimemi, A.; Walker, M.C.; Kullmann, D.M. (2004-09-24). "Comment on "Role of NMDA receptor subtypes in governing the direction of hippocampal synaptic plasticity"". Science. 305 (5692): 1912, author reply. doi:10.1126/science.1102399. ISSN 1095-9203. PMC 1410731. PMID 15448254.
  6. ^ Scimemi, Annalisa; Semyanov, Alexey; Sperk, Günther; Kullmann, Dimitri M.; Walker, Matthew C. (2005-10-26). "Multiple and plastic receptors mediate tonic GABAA receptor currents in the hippocampus". The Journal of Neuroscience: The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 25 (43): 10016–10024. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2520-05.2005. ISSN 1529-2401. PMC 6725560. PMID 16251450.
  7. ^ Scimemi, Annalisa; Schorge, Stephanie; Kullmann, Dimitri M.; Walker, Matthew C. (February 2006). "Epileptogenesis is associated with enhanced glutamatergic transmission in the perforant path". Journal of Neurophysiology. 95 (2): 1213–1220. doi:10.1152/jn.00680.2005. ISSN 0022-3077. PMID 16282203.
  8. ^ Pavlov, I.; Scimemi, A.; Savtchenko, L; Kullmann, D.M.; Walker, M.C. (2011-02-15). "I(h)-mediated depolarization enhances the temporal precision of neuronal integration". Nature Communications. 2: 199. doi:10.1038/ncomms1202. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 3105342. PMID 21326231.
  9. ^ Scimemi, Annalisa; Diamond, Jeffrey S. (2012-12-12). "The number and organization of Ca2+ channels in the active zone shapes neurotransmitter release from Schaffer collateral synapses". The Journal of Neuroscience: The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 32 (50): 18157–18176. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3827-12.2012. ISSN 1529-2401. PMC 3553858. PMID 23238730.
  10. ^ "Scimemi Lab - About myself". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  11. ^ Scimemi, Annalisa; Meabon, James S.; Woltjer, Randall L.; Sullivan, Jane M.; Diamond, Jeffrey S.; Cook, David G. (2013-03-20). "Amyloid-β1-42 slows clearance of synaptically released glutamate by mislocalizing astrocytic GLT-1". The Journal of Neuroscience: The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 33 (12): 5312–5318. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5274-12.2013. ISSN 1529-2401. PMC 3866500. PMID 23516295.
  12. ^ McCauley, John P.; Petroccione, Maurice A.; D'Brant, Lianna Y.; Todd, Gabrielle C.; Affinnih, Nurat; Wisnoski, Justin J.; Zahid, Shergil; Shree, Swasti; Sousa, Alioscka A.; De Guzman, Rose M.; Migliore, Rosanna; Brazhe, Alexey; Leapman, Richard D.; Khmaladze, Alexander; Semyanov, Alexey (2020-10-13). "Circadian Modulation of Neurons and Astrocytes Controls Synaptic Plasticity in Hippocampal Area CA1". Cell Reports. 33 (2): 108255. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108255. ISSN 2211-1247. PMC 7700820. PMID 33053337.
  13. ^ Bellini, Stefania; Fleming, Kelsey E.; De, Modhurika; McCauley, John P.; Petroccione, Maurice A.; D'Brant, Lianna Y.; Tkachenko, Artem; Kwon, SoYoung; Jones, Lindsey A.; Scimemi, Annalisa (2018-01-24). "Neuronal Glutamate Transporters Control Dopaminergic Signaling and Compulsive Behaviors". The Journal of Neuroscience: The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 38 (4): 937–961. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1906-17.2017. ISSN 1529-2401. PMC 6596231. PMID 29229708.
  14. ^ Sweeney, Amanda M.; Fleming, Kelsey E.; McCauley, John P.; Rodriguez, Marvin F.; Martin, Elliot T.; Sousa, Alioscka A.; Leapman, Richard D.; Scimemi, Annalisa (2017-03-03). "PAR1 activation induces rapid changes in glutamate uptake and astrocyte morphology". Scientific Reports. 7: 43606. Bibcode:2017NatSR...743606S. doi:10.1038/srep43606. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 5335386. PMID 28256580.
  15. ^ Petroccione, Maurice A.; D'Brant, Lianna Y.; Affinnih, Nurat; Wehrle, Patrick H.; Todd, Gabrielle C.; Zahid, Shergil; Chesbro, Haley E.; Tschang, Ian L.; Scimemi, Annalisa (2023-07-12). "Neuronal glutamate transporters control reciprocal inhibition and gain modulation in D1 medium spiny neurons". eLife. 12: e81830. doi:10.7554/eLife.81830. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 10411972. PMID 37435808.
  16. ^ "Ion Channels in Synaptic & Neural Circuit Physiology 2025 | CSHL". meetings.cshl.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  17. ^ "Annalisa Scimemi | Inmed". www.inmed.fr. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  18. ^ Scimemi, Annalisa (2022-10-16), scimemia/NRN-EZ, retrieved 2024-10-06
  19. ^ "Neuroscience Top 100 of 2023". Nature. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  20. ^ "President's Awards for Exemplary Public Engagement | University at Albany". www.albany.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  21. ^ "Noteworthy: Research grants, awards and publications | University at Albany". www.albany.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-04. This work seeks to advance understanding of neuronal circuits involved in spatial map representation — how space is represented and interpreted in the brain — and will support future strategies to treat diseases associated with hippocampal neural circuit dysfunction such as epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder
  22. ^ "Studying the Biology of Alzheimer's Disease: A Q&A with Annalisa Scimemi | University at Albany". www.albany.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-06. The project focuses on astrocytes, a type of non-neuronal cell in the brain, and a technique called optogenetics — using light to control brain activity. Dr. Scimemi's lab is at the forefront of this technology, which relies on a multidisciplinary blend of electrophysiology, imaging, computational and behavioral approaches
  23. ^ "Tonko Announces $1.24 Million Federal Science Grant for SUNY Albany". Congressman Paul Tonko. 2020-07-13. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  24. ^ "The SfN Hudson Berkshire Chapter". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  25. ^ "Home". www.cnsorg.org. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  26. ^ "Program Committee 2020". www.cnsorg.org. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  27. ^ "Program Committee 2021". www.cnsorg.org. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  28. ^ "Program Committee 2022". www.cnsorg.org. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  29. ^ "Society for Neuroscience - Advancing the Understanding of the Brain and Nervous System". www.sfn.org. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
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