SILVANA GAETANI

SILVANA GAETANI

Full Professor of Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Dept. of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer" (PhysioPharm), Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine

EDUCATION
-1998: Master in Biological Sciences magna cum laude. University of Lecce, Italy
-2003: Ph.D in Pharmacology (full score). University of Bari Italy, School of Medicine

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS
Graduate Minor in Bioethics, Univ. of Lecce, Italy
First Certificate in English, Univ. of Cambridge, UK
Accent reduction II for nonnative English speakers, Univ. of California Irvine, USA

ACADEMIC HISTORY
-2001-2004: Junior Specialist (2001-2002) and Post-Doctoral fellow (2003-2004), University of California Irvine Dept. of Pharmacology.
-2004-2005: Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pharmacology (Rientro dei Cervelli), Sapienza Univ.
-2005-2012: Assistant Professor (Ricercatore Universitario) of Pharmacology, Sapienza Univ.
-2012-2019: Associate Professor (Professore Associato) of Pharmacology, Sapienza Univ.
-since November 2019: Full Professor (Professore Ordinario) of Pharmacology, Sapienza Univ.

RESEARCH GRANTS AS COORDINATOR AND/OR PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI)
2004-2008: Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR), Programma Rientro dei Cervelli (€139000)
2007-2008: Sapienza Univ. Intramural Research Grant (RICERCHE DI ATENEO FEDERATO) (€5300)
2007-2009: (NATIONAL COORDINATOR) MIUR National Research Grant (PRIN) (€158000)
2013-2017 (PI) MIUR Futuro in Ricerca (FIR) (€228798)
2014-2018: (PI) MIUR National Research Grant (PRIN) (€103386)
2013-2014: Sapienza Univ. Intramural Research Grant (RICERCHE UNIVERSITARIE 2013) (€25946)
2017-2020: (PI) MIUR National Research Grant (PRIN) (€40000)
2019-2021 (PI) MIUR National Research Grant (PRIN) (€114731)
2019-2022 Sapienza Univ. Intramural Research Grant (RICERCHE UNIVERSITARIE 2018) (€33800)
2022-2025 Sapienza Univ. Intramural Research Grant (RICERCHE UNIVERSITARIE 2021) (€63787)
2022-ongoing Sapienza Univ. Grant for equipment upgrades (ammodernamento infrastrutture) (€243872)
2025-ongoing Sapienza Horizon Haward (PI) (€12970)
2025-ongoing Sapienza Rome technopole, International Network (PI) (€20000)
2025-ongoing ERA4Health – NutriBrain (PI) (€1571164)

MAIN ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES AT SAPIENZA UNIVERSITY
-Director (Coordinatore) of the Doctorate Program in Pharmacology and Toxicology;
-Board member of the School of Post-graduate Specialization in Pharmacology and Clinical Toxicology;
-Member of the scientific didactic council of the Post-graduate Master Course in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism;
-2008-2012 and 2017-present: ELECTED MEMBER OF THE DEPARTMENT ADVISORY BOARD (Giunta di Dipartimento)
-2017-present: ELECTED MEMBER OF THE FACULTY ADVISORY BOARD (Giunta di Facoltà)
-2008-2019: ELECTED MEMBER OF DIDACTIC COMMITTEE Master Course in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
-2011-2012: MEMBER OF THE RESEARCH COMMITTEE (Commissione Ricerca di Ateneo)
-2012-present: Coordinator of the didactic quality team of the Master Course in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
-2014-present: member of the “ANIMAL WELFARE BODY” (OBPA) of the Dept. PhysioPharm
-Teaching Pharmacology in the Master's Degrees in Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Genetics and Molecular Biology.
-Mentor of 20 PhD students (2006-present)
-Mentor of 65 master theses in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacy, Neurobiology

INTERNATIONAL MENTORSHIP ACTIVITIES (2015-PRESENT)
-Dr Florencia Andreoli, Unoversidad Nacional del Litoral Santa Fe, Argentina, Visiting Researcher (2013-2014)
-Prof. Yan Qiu, Yan Qiu Associate Professor del Medical College of Xiamen University, Cina, Visiting Professor (2015-2016)
-Dr Owein Guillemot-Legris, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels (Belgium), Visiting Fellow, through the Wallonie-Bruxelles International Excellence grant (2017)
-Prof. Fernando Rodriguez de Fonseca, Full Professor at the University of Malaga, Spain, Visiting Professor (2023)
-Ms Jessica de Sá, Visiting Brasilian Student, mobility program “science without borders” (2015)
-Ms Tatiana Soares Costa, Visiting Student from University of Coimbra, Partugal, Erasmus Plus program (2016-2017)
-Ms Vera Weinberg, Visiting Student from Utrecht University, the Netherlands, Erasmus Plus program (2017)
-Ms Dorien Smeets, Visiting Student from Utrecht University, the Netherlands, Erasmus Plus program (2018-2019)
-Ms Konstantina Karagiota, Visiting Student from University of West Attica, Greece, Erasmus Plus program (2023)

RESEARCH INTERESTS AND CITATIONS
Dr Gaetani’s research activities focus on the study of the therapeutic potential of exogenous modulators of the endocannabinoid/paracannabinoid system (particularly direct and indirect agonists) in experimental models of neuropsychiatric, metabolic and/or neurodegenerative diseases, (particularly eating disorders, mood disorders, obesity, Alzheimer's disease).
The results of these activities have been reported in 96 scientific publications (H index: 43; 8232 citations - SCOPUS), many lectures and conference presentations.

MAIN PUBBLICATIONS ON PEER REVIEWD SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS (related to the grant proposal)
1. Rodriguez de Fonseca F, Navarro M, Gomez R, Escuredo L, Nava F, Fu J, Murillo-Rodriguez E, Giuffrida A, LoVerme J, Gaetani S, Kathuria S, Gall C, Piomelli D. An anorexic lipid mediator regulated by feeding. Nature 2001 414(6860):209-12.
2. Kathuria S, Gaetani S, Fegley D, Valino F, Duranti A, Tontini A, Mor M, Tarzia G, Rana GL, Calignano A, Giustino A, Tattoli M, Palmery M, Cuomo V, Piomelli D. Modulation of anxiety through blockade of anandamide hydrolysis. Nature Medicine 2003 9(1):76-81
3. Gaetani S, Oveisi F and Piomelli D. Modulation of meal pattern in the rat by the anorexic lipid mediator oleoylethanolamide. Neuropsychopharmacology 2003 28(7):1311-6.
4. Fu J, Gaetani S, Oveisi F, Lo Verme J, Serrano A, Rodriguez De Fonseca F, Rosengarth A, Luecke H, Di Giacomo B, Tarzia G, Piomelli D. Oleylethanolamide regulates feeding and body weight through activation of the nuclear receptor PPAR-alpha. Nature 2003 425(6953):90-3.
5. Gaetani S, Cuomo V, Piomelli D. Anandamide hydrolysis: a new target for anti-anxiety drugs? Trends in Molecular Medicine 2003 9(11):474-8.
6. Gaetani S, Kaye W, Cuomo V, Piomelli D. Role of endocannabinoids and their analogues in obesity and eating disorders. Eating and weight disorders 2008, 13(3):e42-8
7. satiety. Cell Metabolism 2008, 8(4):281-8
8. Gaetani S, Fu J, Cassano T, Dipasquale, Romano A, Righetti L, Cianci S, Laconca L, Giannini E, Scaccianoce S, Mairesse J, Cuomo V, and Piomelli D The fat-induced satiety factor OEA suppresses feeding through central release of oxytocin. Journal of Neuroscience 2010 30(24):8096-101
9. Cassano T*, Gaetani S*, Macheda T, Laconca L, Romano A, Morgese MG, Cimmino CS, Chiarotti F, Bambico FR, Gobbi G, Cuomo V, and Piomelli D Evaluation of the emotional phenotype and serotonergic neurotransmission of fatty acid amide hydrolase-deficient mice. Psychopharmacology, 2010 214(2):465-76 *equal contribution
10. Romano A, Potes CS, Tempesta B, Cassano T, Cuomo V, Lutz T, Gaetani S. Hindbrain noradrenergic input to the hypothalamic PVN mediates the activation of oxytocinergic neurons induced by the satiety factor oleoylethanolamide. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology And Metabolism. 2013. 305(10):E1266-73
11. Romano A, Coccurello R, Giacovazzo G, Bedse G, Moles A and Gaetani S. Oleoylethanolamide: a novel potential pharmacological alternative to cannabinoid antagonists for the control of appetite. BioMed Research International (formerly titled Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology) 2014 2014:203-425
12. Romano A, Karimian Azarib E, Tempesta B, Mansourib A, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Ramachandran D, Lutz TA, Bedse G, Langhans W, and Gaetani S. High dietary fat intake influences the activation of specific hindbrain and hypothalamic nuclei by the satiety factor oleoylethanolamide. Physiology & Behavior 2014 136:55-62
13. Bedse G, Colangeli R, Lavecchia AM, Romano A, Altieri F, Cifani C, Cassano T, Gaetani S. Role of the basolateral amygdala in mediating the effects of the fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor URB597 on HPA axis response to stress. European Neuropsychopharmacology 2014 24(9):1511-23
14. Bedse G, Romano A, Tempesta B, Lavecchia M, Pace L, Bellomo A, Duranti A, Micioni di Bonaventura MV, Cifani C, Cassano T, Gaetani S. Inhibition of anandamide hydrolysis enhances noradrenergic and GABAergic transmission in the prefrontal cortex and basolateral amygdala of rats subjected to acute swim stress. Journal of Neuroscience Research 2015 93(5):777-87
15. Romano A, Tempesta B, Provensi G, Passani MB, Gaetani S. Central mechanisms mediating the hypophagic effects of oleoylethanolamide and N-acylphosphatidylethanolamines: different lipid signals? Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2015 6:137.
16. Romano A, Tempesta B, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV and Gaetani S From Autism to Eating Disorders and More: The Role of Oxytocin in Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Frontiers in neuroscience 2016 9:497
17. Romano A, Koczwara JB, Gallelli CA, Vergara D, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Gaetani S*, Giudetti AM Fats for thoughts: an update on brain fatty acid metabolism. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology 2017 84:40-45
18. Romano A, Gallelli CA, Koczwara JB, Braegger FE, Vitalone A, Falchi M, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Cifani C, Cassano T, Lutz TA, Gaetani S. Role of the area postrema in the hypophagic effects of oleoylethanolamide. Pharmacol Res. 2017 122:20-34
19. Giudetti AM, Testini M, Vergara D, Priore P, Damiano F, Gallelli CA, Romano A, Villani R, Cassano T, Siculella L, Gnoni GV, Moles A, Coccurello R, Gaetani S. Chronic psychosocial defeat differently affects lipid metabolism in liver and white adipose tissue and induces hepatic oxidative stress in mice fed on a high-fat diet. FASEB Journal 2019 33(1):1428-1439
20. Romano A, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Gallelli CA Koczwara JB, Smeets D, Giusepponi ME, De Ceglia M, Friuli M, Micioni Di Bonaventura E, Scuderi C, Vitalone A, Tramutola A, Altieri F, Lutz TA, Giudetti AM, Cassano T, Cifani C and Gaetani S Oleoylethanolamide decreases frustration stress-induced binge-like eating in female rats: a novel potential treatment for binge eating disorder Neuropsychopharmacology 2020 45(11):1931-1941
21. Romano A, Friuli M, Cifani C, Gaetani S. Oxytocin in the neural control of eating: At the crossroad between homeostatic and non-homeostatic signals. Neuropharmacology. 2020 171:108082
22. Giudetti AM*, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Ferramosca A, Longo S, Micioni Di Bonaventura E, Friuli M, Romano A, Gaetani S*§, Cifani C§ Brief daily access to cafeteria-style diet impairs hepatic metabolism even in the absence of excessive body weight gain in rats FASEB 2020 34(7):9358-9371 *corresponding author; §co-last authors
23. Romano A, Friuli M, Del Coco L, Longo S, Vergara D, Del Boccio P, Valentinuzzi S, Cicalini I, Fanizzi FP, Gaetani S*, Giudetti AM. Chronic Oleoylethanolamide Treatment Decreases Hepatic Triacylglycerol Level in Rat Liver by a PPARγ/SREBP-Mediated Suppression of Fatty Acid and Triacylglycerol Synthesis. Nutrients. 2021 Jan 27;13(2):394*Co-last authors
24. Giudetti AM, Vergara Longo S, Friuli M, Eramo B, Tacconi S, Fidaleo M, Dini L, Romano A and Gaetani S. Oleoylethanolamide reduces hepatic oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress in high-fat diet-fed rats. Antioxidants 2021, 10(8), 1289
25. Romano A, Friuli M, Eramo B, Gallelli CA, Koczwara JB, Azari EK, Paquot A, Arnold M, Langhans W, Muccioli GG, Lutz TA, Gaetani S. "To brain or not to brain": evaluating the possible direct effects of the satiety factor oleoylethanolamide in the central nervous system. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 14:1158287.
26. de Ceglia M, Romano A, Micioni Di Bonaventura MV, Gavito AL, Botticelli L, Micioni Di Bonaventura E, Friuli M, Cifani C, Rodriguez de Fonseca F, Gaetani S. Cafeteria diet abstinence induces depressive behavior and disrupts endocannabinoid signaling in dopaminergic areas: a preclinical study. Current Neuropharmacology. 2024 doi: 10.2174/1570159X23666241107160840