Silvia Maioli

I am research group leader and Docent (Associate Professor).

I have defended my PhD at the University of Bologna in 2011 and did my postdoc at KI. I have been working within the neuroscience field in relation to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) since my PhD and my work is based on investigating the mechanisms for risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease focusing on ApoE, cholesterol metabolism and oxysterols.

I have extensive knowledge in the field of mouse behavior and mouse models of neurodegenerative disease and I am Facility Coordinator for the Animal Behavior Core Facility (ABCF) at KI. In addition, I work with different molecular biology techniques.

Research

My research is focused on understanding the biological mechanisms behind risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's Disease (AD), with a focus on sex-differences.

Changes in brain cholesterol metabolism occurs in early stages of the disease and are considered important drivers of the neurodegenerative cascades in AD. AD risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, lifestyle, affect brain cholesterol metabolism. I study the role of cholesterol metabolites and transporters in the brain during neurodegenerative processes by using in vitro and in vivo models, as well as human samples. In addition, I am interested in the connection between cholesterol metabolism and sex hormones. Sex hormones, including estrogen and testosterone, originate from cholesterol and promote neuroprotective functions in the brain. Both cholesterol and sex hormones are shaped by genes and the environment (for example medications, diet), serving as potential preventive and therapeutic targets for AD.

Another topic in the lab is multi-medication therapies and related sex-differences. We study the effects of different combinations of drugs commonly used in AD comorbidities using mouse models and human data from different clinical cohorts