Luisa Gorza
Luisa Gorza
e-mail:
affiliation: Università di Padova
research area(s): Cell Biology, Experimental Medicine
Course: Biosciences and Biotechnologies
University/Istitution: Università di Padova
1980: Medical Degree, maximum cum laude, University of Padova
1980-82: Fellow of the Anna Villa Rusconi Foundation
1982-83: Mons. G.Pini Fellowship
1983-2001:Assistant Professor
April 2001-present: Associate Professor of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, University of Padova

Experience with other national and international Institutions:
1983:EMBO short-term fellowship at prof. L.E.Thornell's lab, University of Umea, Sweden
1990-2002: Academic Member of the C.N.R.-unit for Muscle Biology and Physiopathology, Padova
1992: Visiting scientist at prof.K.R.Chien's lab, UCSD, La Jolla, CA.
2007: Visiting scientist at dr.F.del Monte's lab, CVRC, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA.

Dr. Gorza published 71 papers in international peer-reviewed Journals, indexed by ISI, and presented more than a houndred communications at national and international meetings, among which several were on invitation. Metrics: Total IF: 787.69; citations: 4,931 (1,173 from 2007); H index 40 (18 from 2007); number of papers with more than 10 citations: 61 (40 from 2007).

She is Principal Investigator since 1993 and Faculty member of the PhD Course in Cell Biology since 2001.
She is currently involved in peer-review of several cardiological and physiological journals
Research activity concerns biology and pathology of striated muscle cells. After extensive investigations on polymorphism of myofibrillar proteins, such as myosin heavy chains and troponin T and I in different physiological and pathological conditions, she is presently addressing the field of muscle stress proteins/chaperones by isolating rabbit Grp94 cDNA and investigating the role of this protein in differentiation of striated muscle cells and in cytoprotection of muscle tissues against oxidative stress, in vitro and in vivo (experimental models and human pathology of muscle disuse and myositis).
1. Tarricone E, Scapin C, Vitadello M, Esposito F, Margonato V, Milano G, Samaja M, Gorza L. (2008) Cellular distribution of Hsp70 in rat skeletal muscles. Effects of moderate exercise training and chronic hypoxia. Cell Stress Chaper 13: 483-95.
2. Frasson M*, Vitadello M*, Brunati AM, La Rocca N, Tibaldi E, Pinna LA, Gorza L, Donella-Deana A. (2009) Grp94 is Tyr-phosphorylated by Fyn in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum and translocates to Golgi in differentiating myoblasts. Biochim Biophys Acta - Mol Cell Res. 1793:239-52 (*equal contribution).
3. Dalla Libera L, Ravara B, Gobbo V, Tarricone E, Vitadello M, Biolo G, Vescovo G, Gorza L. (2009) A transient anti-oxidant stress-response accompanies the onset of disuse atrophy in human skeletal muscle, J Appl Physiol 107: 549-557.
4. Pizzo P, Scapin S, Vitadello M, Florean C, Gorza L (2010) Grp94 acts as a mediator of curcumin-induced anti-oxidant defence in myogenic cells. J Cell Mol Med. 14: 970-981
5. Vitadello M, Doria A, Tarricone E, Ghirardello A, Gorza L (2010) Myofiber stress-response in myositis: parallel investigations on patients and experimental animal models of muscle regeneration and systemic inflammation. Arthritis Res Ther, 12: R52
6. Agostini F, Libera LD, Rittweger J, Mazzucco S, Jurdana M, Mekjavic IB, Piot R, Gorza L, Narici M, Biolo G (2010) Effects of inactivity on human muscle glutathione synthesis by a double-tracer and single-biopsy approach. J Physiol. 588:5089-104
8. Ghirardello A, Zampieri S, Tarricone E, Iaccarino L, Gorza L, Doria A. (2011) Cutting Edge Issues in Polymyositis. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 41:179-189
9. Bortoloso E, Megighian A, Furlan S, Gorza L, Volpe P. (2013) Homer 2 antagonizes protein degradation in slow-twitch skeletal muscles. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol.304:C68-77
10. Renaud G, Llano-Diez M, Ravar B, Gorza L, Feng HZ, Jin JP, Cacciani N, Gustafson AM, Ochala J, Corpeno R, Li M, Hedström Y, Ford GC, Nair KS, Larsson L. (2013) Sparing of muscle mass and function by passive loading in an experimental intensive care unit model.J Physiol. Jan 2. [Epub ahead of print]
11.Castellani C, Vescovo G, Ravara B, Franzin C, Pozzobon M, Tavano R, Gorza L, Papini E, Vettor R, De Coppi P, Thiene G, Angelini A. (2013) The contribution of stem cell therapy to skeletal muscle remodelling in heart failure. Intern J Cardiol (in press)
No projects are available to students for the current accademic year.