Luca Bonfanti

Curriculum  

Born in Turin on 19.05.1962. Italian.
1987. Doctor in Veterinary Medicine cum laude, University of Turin.
1991. Two year stage at INSERM Unity 176 and "Laboratoire de Neuroendocrinologie Morphofonctionnelle" , University of Bordeaux II.
1992. PhD in Veterinary Functional Neuroanatomy.
1992. "Elba International Neuroscience Program" (Isola d'Elba)
1993. Post-doctoral scholarship from the University of Turin for research at the Dipartimento di Morfofisiologia Veterinaria.
1993. Stage at INSERM Unity 378 (Bordeaux), within a CNR/INSERM partnership.
1994. Assistant Professor (V30A group, then VET01) at the Dipartimento di Morfofisiologia Veterinaria, University of Turin.
2000. Associate Professor (VET01) of Anatomy of the Domestic Animals, at the same Department.
2011. Invited professor at NorthEastern University, Boston (two month stay teaching Stem Cell Biology).

Scholarships:
Dottorato di ricerca (PhD at the University of Turin,1988);
Società Italiana delle Scienze Veterinarie (1991);
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM, 1991);
European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO, 1992);
Post-doctoral scholarship (Università di Torino, 1993).

Member of the Editorial Board of peer-reviewed journals:
Frontiers in Neurogenesis (Frontiers journal series)
Open Neuroscience Journal (Bentham)
Neurogenesis (Landes Bioscience)

Guest Editor in 'Special Issues' on peer reviewed journals:
Neural stem cell niches and parenchymal progenitors (2010) Archiv. It. Biol. (with A. Mackay-Sim);
Towards a comparative understanding of adult neurogenesis (2011) Eur. J. Neurosci. (with G.H. Zupanc);
Adult neurogenesis twenty years later: physiological function versus brain repair (2014) Front. Neurosci. (with P. Peretto);

Guest referee for international scientific journals:
Nat. Rev. Neurosci.; PLoS Biol.; PLoS ONE Neuroscience; J. Neuroendocrinol.; Stem Cells; J. Comp. Neurol.; Glia; J. Anat.; J. Neurosci.; Eur. J. Neurosci.; Exp. Neurol.; J. Neurochem.; Neurobiol. Dis.; Brain Res.; Brain Res. Bull.; Int. J. Dev. Neurosci.; Curr. Stem Cell Res. Ther.; Int. J. Neuropsychopharm.; BMC-Dev. Biol.; Neurosci. Lett.; J. Neurosci. Res.; Cell Adh. Migr.; Cereb. Cortex; Front. Neurogenesis; Hippocampus; Physiol. Rev.

Scientific Societies:
Società Italiana di Neuroscienze (S.I.N.S.); Societé des Neurosciences (France; until 2009); Society for Neurosciences (USA; until 2008); Associazione dei Morfologi Veterinari (A.M.V.); Stemcellitaly (since 2010); Integrational Mind Labs (since 2011).

Membership in research centers:
Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO, Orbassano, Turin)

Membership in research networks:
Istituto Nazionale di Neuroscienze (INN); Neuroscience Institute Turin (NIT); Progetto NEUROTRANSPLANT.

Reviewer in international grant projects :
- European Commission's 7th Framework Programme for Research (topic: HEALTH-2007-2.2.1-7)
- ELA Foundation (2009)
- Neurological Foundation of New Zealand (2009)
- Japanese-Israeli scientific and technological cooperation agreement in LIFE SCIENCES (Topic: Stem Cell Research, 2010).
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation; 2011)
- Swiss National Science Foundation (2011)

Visiting committees:
Evaluation of S.B.R.I. (Stem cell and Brain Research Institute, Lyon, France - 2010) for AERES (Agence d'Evaluation de la Recherche et des établissements d'Enseignement Supérieur)

PhD program :
Since 2001, member of the Council for "PhD course in Basic Sciences and Veterinary Biotechnology", now PhD School of Veterinary Sciences.

PhD students:
Giovanna Ponti, Angela Gritti, Nadia Canalia, Maria Armentano, Paola Crociara. Member in final PhD thesis evaluation committee:
- PhD in co-sharing Italy-France, Dr. Samuele Chiaramello: Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor
(BDNF) et régulation de la neurogenèse dans le système olfactif de la souris adulte (Lyon, 2008)
- Dr. Ramón Guirado Guillén: Neuronal structural plasticity of the rodent telencephalon: Role of PSA-NCAM and modulation by the antidepressant Fluoxetine (València, Spagna, 2012)

Main invited conferences:
- Glial-glial and glial-neuronal interactions in the subependymal layer and CNS migratory streams. 2nd International Conference on Glial Interfaces in the Nervous System (Uppsala, 2001).
- The subependymal layer: anatomical and comparative aspects. PhD Course in Pharmacology and Tossicology, University of Milan (Stem Cell Biology and Therapies; 2001).
- The subependymal layer as a source of cells for the adult mammalian brain: anatomical and comparative aspects. Satellite Symposium S.I.N.S. (Neural stem cells: a multipotential system for biology and therapy; Turin, 2001).
- Glia-independent chains of neuroblasts in the adult brain parenchyma. F.E.N.S. Forum, (Simposio: Understanding the different steps of adult neurogenesis; Lisbon, 2004).
- The changing anatomy of a static structure: comparative aspects of postnatal cerebellar neurogeneisis. The node and the network: Camillo Golgi Nobel Prize centennial 1906-2006, Pavia (2006)
- Adult neurogenesis in mammals, with and without germinal layers. International Neuroscience Winter Conference, Solden, Austria (2009)
- Typical and atypical stem cell niches: is there a rule? Workshop: Promises and Pitfalls of Stem Cell Research: An Update, Azienda ospedaliera S. Luigi Gonzaga, Orbassano (2009)
- Cells, tissues, organs, and organisms: evolution of reparative processes in complex biological structures. ESOF 2010 Scientific programme, Torino (con E. Arenas, G. Zupanc, F. Rossi)

Invited seminars:
- The subependymal layer: anatomical and comparative aspects. Corso di Dottorato in Farmacologia e Tossicologia dell'Università di Milano - giornata: Stem Cell Biology and Therapies, Milan (2001)
- Genesi e migrazione di precursori neuronali nel SNC dei mammiferi adulti. Dottorato in Biotecnologie applicate alle Scienze Veterinarie e Zootecniche, Milan (2004)
- Postnatal/adult neurogenic sites in mammals: a morphological approach. Istituto scientifico San Raffaele, Milan (2006)
- Structural plasticity in the rabbit brain and cerebellum: with and without germinal layers. Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK (2008)
- Neurogenesis in the adult rabbit: from olfactory system to cerebellum. Neurophysiologie et Nouvelles Microscopies INSERM U603, Université Paris Descartes, Paris (2008)
- Cellule staminali neurali: stato dell'arte e prospettive di ricerca. CNR Institute of Neuroscience and Dept. Experimental Biomedical Sciences, Università di Padova, Padova (2008)
- Neurogenesis in Lagomorphs: from olfactory system to cerebellum. Inserm U 862; Université VictorSegalen-Bordeaux II, Bordeaux (2008)
- Neurogenesi adulta: la fine di un dogma? Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte e della Liguria,Turin (2009)
- Variabili che condizionano l'attività delle cellule staminali neurali in vivo e in vitro. Laurea magistrale in neurobiologia e Dottorato di ricerca in Biologia Cellulare, Universita' di Pavia (2009)
- Cellule staminali, rigenerazione, neurogenesi adulta: stato dell'arte e analisi critica. Dip. di Scienze Sperimentali Veterinarie, Università di Padova (2010)

Lectures:
- Nicchie staminali: limiti e opportunità nel futuro della ricerca. Convegno internazionale Le 2 Culture: Le cellule staminali tra scienza e società. Ariano Irpino, 2009.
- Le cellule staminali cerebrali: cellule invisibili? Meeting GISN, Bologna, 2009.
- Il sistema nervoso e le sue potenzialità di rinnovare i costituenti cellulari. Meeting: Età, Abilità e Apprendimento, Torino, 2010.
- Evolutionary, anatomical and molecular constraints to therapeutically-aimed modulation of adult neurogenesis. VI SIF Symposium: The pharmacological modulation of adult neural stem/progenitor cells. Novara, 2010.

Scientific collaborations:
Prof. Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, UCSF Neurological Surgery faculty, San Francisco, California, USA
Prof. Elena Cattaneo, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche, Centro di eccellenza per lo studio delle Malattie Neurodegenerative, Universiy of Milan.
Prof. Aldo Fasolo, Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell'Uomo, University of Turin.
Prof. Ferdinando Rossi, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, University of Turin.
Prof. Angelo Vescovi, stem Cell research Institute (SCRI) San Raffaele, Milan.
Dr. Angela Gritti,San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (TIGET), Milan.
Günther K.H. Zupanc, Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, USA.
Stefano Pluchino, Gianvito Martino, Istituto scientifico San Raffaele, Milan.
Prof. Juan Nacher, Universitat de Valencia, Neurobiology, Cell Biology, Spain.