ALESSANDRO MORMINO

Name: Alessandro Mormino
Date of birth: 23th of October 1993
Education
• 2020-2023 PhD in Neurophysiology final mark: with honors. Thesis: “Targeting tumor microenvironment to counteract glioblastoma growth” Dep. Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
• 2018-2020 Master degree in Medical biotechnology final mark: 110/110 cum laude. Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. 2012-2017
• Bachelor degree in Biotechnology. Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

Professional experiences
• 2026-present RTDA (Ricercatore a tempo determinato di tipo A) in neuro-immunology under the scientific supervision of Professor Stefano Garofaolo Dep. Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Title: ““The mission of a Killer: to unravel the unexpected role of Natural Killer cells in tuning brain functions (NKINBRAIN)”.
• 2025 Post-doc in neuro-immunology under the scientific supervision of Prof.essa Cristina Limatola Dep. Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Topic: “Study of the communication mechanism between glioma cells and the brain parenchyma using animal models”.
• 2024 Post-doc in neuro-immunology under the scientific supervision of Prof. Stefano Garofalo Dep. Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Topic: ”siRNA therapeutics in Glioblastoma”.
• 2024 Visiting Researcher at Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Pisa, Italy.
• 2020 Enabling in the National order of Biologists

Professional experiences (didactic activity)
• AA 2024-2025 Cultore della materia (subject expert) in Physiology (05/BIOS-06) for the Master Degree in "Chemistry and pharmaceutical technologies”.
• AA 2024-2025 Seminar lecture for Physiology course of the Master Degree in "Chemistry and pharmaceutical technologies”
• AA 2020-2021 Winner of a collaboration grant for tutoring activities for students of the Physiotherapy course, Sapienza, University of Rome

• 2020 - present Laboratory tutor for four undergraduate students of courses of Medicine, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, and Neurobiology, with a focus on supporting practical lab activities.

Courses and Workshop

• 2025 Fall school on calcium dynamics organized by Sapienza, University of Rome.
• 2024 General Health and Safety at Work Training Course (4 hours) Basic workplace safety regulations and risk prevention (as required by Italian legislation) organized by Sapienza, University of Rome
• 2022 Preclinical Testing and Animal Welfare Training Course – 1st Edition Sapienza University of Rome, organized by the Research and Service Center for Preclinical Testing and Animal Welfare. Course modules: 1 – National Legislation; 2 – Ethics, Animal Welfare, and the Three Rs (Level 1); 3.1 – Basic Appropriate Biology – Mice; 3.2 – Basic Appropriate Biology – Rats; 4 – Animal Care, Health, and Management – Mice and Rats; 5 – Recognition of Pain, Suffering, and Distress – Mice and Rats; 6.1 – Humane Methods of Killing; 6.2 – Humane Methods of Killing – Mice; 7 – Minimally Invasive Procedures Without Anesthesia – Mice; 8 – Minimally Invasive Procedures Without Anesthesia – Rats; 20 – Anesthesia for Minor Procedures.

Memberships of Scientific societies
• 2025 Member of Italian Glia Network (IGN)
• 2025 Member of Associazione Italiana Neuroimmunologia (AINI)
• 2023 Member of Brainstorming Research Assembly for Young Neuroscientists (BRAYN)
• 2022 Member of Brainstorming Research Assembly for Young Neuroscientists (BRAYN)

Grants
2023-2025 Partecipant grant PRIN 2022488T5S Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (225.922 euro).
2022-25 Partecipant grant PNRR CN3 - PNRR M4C2-Investimento 1.4- CN00000041 UE NextGenerationEU - Spoke 2 Cancer Rna based therapeutics in cancer: from discovery to pre- clinical studies (248.000 euro).
2023-26 Partecipant grant Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Finalizzata GR-2021- 12372494)
Unravelling the role of astrocyte mediated phagocytosis in brain tumors (67.500 euro).

Local Grants
2022 Principal Investigator University Grant “Avvio alla Ricerca”, Sapienza University of Rome Role of microglial cells in the modulation of neurogliomal synapses. (1000 euro).

Honours and Awards
• Young Research Awards 2021 for best published research in Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome, Sapienza (2000 euro).
• “Excellent Graduate” recognition from Sapienza University of Rome AA 2019/2020
Research Experiences
• 2026 – present Research lines:
 Therapeutic strategies to enhance the immune system's efficacy against glioblastoma
 Study of novel immune–brain parenchyma interactions in the context of brain tumors
 Role of immune system (NK cells) in the modulation of brain function under physiological conditions
• 2024 - 2025 Post-Doctoral activity. Research lines:
 Therapeutic strategies to enhance the immune system's efficacy against glioblastoma
 Study of novel immune–brain parenchyma interactions in the context of brain tumors
 Role of immune system in the modulation of brain function under physiological conditions
• 2020 – 2023 Doctoral activity. Research lines:
 Study on the antitumor effect of rAAV2‑IL‑15-engineered microglia in a murine glioma model
 Study of epigenetic modulation on glioblastoma microenvironment
 Role of innate immunity in sleep regulation
 Study of the communication between Natural Killer cells (NK cells) and microglia in physiological conditions
• 2018 – 2020 Master degree activity. Research line:
 Research on epigenetic modifications in human and mouse brain tumors and microglia

Publications (2021-2026)
First author papers: 3 Total papers: 9
H index: 6
Total citations: 106