1986: M.D. degree. 1990: Ph.D. in Neurological Sciences. 1986: visiting scholar at the Hirnforschung Institut of Zürich, Switzerland. 1989: visiting scholar at the Ludwig Maximilian Universität, Munich, Germany. 1990: Assistant Professor at the Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology of the University of Torino. From February 1992 to February 1993: on sabbatical leave, at the Max Planck Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Göttingen (Germany) and at the I. Physiologisches Institut der Universität des Saarlandes, Homburg/Saar (Germany). 1998: Associate Professor at the University of Perugia, Italy. 1998 and 2000: Visiting Scientist at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako-Shi (Japan). 2004: Associate Professor of Physiology at the University of Torino, Italy. 2005: Full Professor of Physiology at the University of Torino, Italy. 2008: tenure. 2010:co-founder and group leader at the Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (N.I.C.O.). In 2012 (2 months) and in 2013-2014 (13 months): Visiting Scientist at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas (USA).
Research focus
Tempia research’s focus on 2 areas:
(i) Role of the phospholipidic profile in myelin structure and action potential velocity: we showed that the enzyme Elovl5 is required for a proper membrane composition to optimize myelin compactness and achieve high conduction velocity of action potentials. The lack of this enzyme causes ataxia both in mice and in humans (spinocerebellar ataxia type 38).
(ii) Neuronal and molecular mechanisms of depression: we are studying neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex of animal models of depression; we also found an altered expression of the Gsk3 kinase and a protective role of the deletion of Fgf14.
Skills: patch-clamp in tissue slices, calcium imaging.
