Eriola Hoxha graduated from the University of Padova in 2006 with a degree in Molecular Biology. In 2011, she obtained a PhD in Experimental Neuroscience from the University of Torino, with a thesis on the electrophysiological alterations that affect the circuitry of the cerebellum and their association with neurodegenerative pathologies. From 2011 to 2019, she continued her studies on the mechanisms controlling neurotransmission in the cerebellar circuit as a postdoctoral fellow in Filippo Tempia’s lab (University of Torino). In 2019, she was appointed to the position of tenure-track Assistant Professor and subsequently she became Associate Professor of Physiology at the University of Turin in 2022. Since 2023, she is a member of the Scientific Board of the Ph.D. School in Neuroscience at the University of Torino.
Research focus
My research focuses on understanding cerebellar function, with a particular emphasis on the critical role of Purkinje cells in synaptic circuits and their involvement in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) and autism. Using patch-clamp recordings we demonstrated cerebellar neurophysiological alterations in the first knock-in mouse model for SCA28 ataxia, providing a connection between enhanced mitochondrial proteotoxicity and ataxia.
We are part of the team that discovered Elovl5 as the causative gene for SCA38 and we were the first research group that validates a murine model of SCA38. These findings have opened the way to studies that explore the role of polyunsaturated fatty acids on the cerebellar synaptic transmission.
Recently, I initiated a new line of research aimed at uncovering the molecular mechanisms driving neurodegeneration in ataxia telangiectasia, with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic targets.
