Cristina Cereda
Cristina Cereda
e-mail:
affiliation: IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
research area(s): Neuroscience, Molecular Biology
Course: Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology
University/Istitution: Università di Pavia
2018-ongoing: consultant of Golgi Cenci Fundation (Abbiategrasso, Italy). Head of the Lab. of Neurobiology
and Genetics.
2017-ongoing: Adjunct Professor at the Dep. of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia (Pavia,
Italy). Immulology teaching at Biology’s graduation.
2015-ongoing: Director of Genomic and post-Genomic Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation (Pavia, Italy).
2013-ongoing: Adjunct professor at the Dep. Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia (Pavia, Italy).
Neurogenetic teaching at Neurology’s Residency.
2009-2015: Head of the Lab. of Experimental Neurobiology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation (Pavia, Italy).
2001-2008: Senior Researcher at the Lab. of Experimental Neurobiology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation (Pavia,
Italy). 1994-1997: Residency in Applied Genetic; University of Pavia, Dept. of Genetic and Microbiology, Lab of Immunogenetic. Pavia (Italy).
1992-1994: Junior Research fellow, Dep. of Genetic and Microbiology, Lab. of Immunogenetic, University of
Pavia (Pavia, Italy). 1994: State examination for the licence to practice as a biologist.
1986-1992: Degree in Biological Sciences; University of Pavia, Dept. of Genetic and Microbiology, Lab of
Immunogenetic. Pavia (Italy).

Guest Editor Activity:
• 2015 – to present: Academic Editor for PLos ONE.
• 2016 – to present: Academic Editor for Journal of Genetic Medicine and Gene Therapy
Guest Referee activity:
• Journal of Neuroimmunology (JNI),
• Neuropharmacology (NEUROPHARM),
• Journal of the Neurological Sciences (JNS),
• Frontiers in cellular neuroscience (FRONT CELL NEUROSCI),
• Neuroscience letters (NEUROSCI LETT),
• Journal of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry (JNNP),
• Neurological Sciences (NEUS)
• PlosOne
Membership of the Scentific Societies:
• 2009 (fellow) Italian Society of Human Genetics (SIGU)
• 2011 (fellow) Italian Society of Neuroscience (SINS)
• 2011 (fellow) Federation of European Neuroscince Societies (FENS)
• 2011 (fellow) Society for Neurosciece (SfN)
Dr Cristina Cereda has a broad background in the fields of neurogenetics and neurobiology and a strong interest in applying a multidisciplinary approach (involving molecular and cellular biology, genetics and biochemistry) to the study of several neurodegenerative diseases (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer and Parkinson disease, Aicardi Goutières Syndrome, etc). In the last years, she extended her researches on cellular and molecular pathways involved in neurodegeneration related to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dynamics, autophagy and stress granule formation, DNA damage, instability and DDR, and biomarkers (genetic and molecular) discovery in peripheral tissues of patients. Moreover, she gained also an extensive know-how in the field of neuro-immunology and cytokines alterations in neurological diseases. Since 2006 she has been focusing
on genetic research in neurodegeneration by performing both SNP association studies and genetic screening
of candidate genes to detect potential novel mutations causing the disease. In 2009, she was appointed Director
of the Genomic and post-Genomic Center at the IRCCS Mondino Foundation. The Center includes Molecular Genetics, Transcriptome & RNA metabolism; Proteomic & Biomarker discovery; Cellular & Tissues Analysis; Bioinformatics & Systems Biology, and Biobank research areas, and it is equipped with all the equipment necessary for research.
From 2004 until now Dr Cristina Cereda has published 101 peer-reviewed papers. Here, the list of the last 15 publications:
1. De Mori R, Severino M, Mancardi MM, Anello D, Tardivo S, Biagini T, Capra V, Casella A, Cereda C, Copeland BR, Gagliardi S, Gamucci A, Ginevrino M, Illi B, Lorefice E, Musaev D, Stanley V, Micalizzi A, Gleeson JG, Mazza T, Rossi A, Valente EM. Agenesis of the putamen and globus pallidus caused by recessive mutations in the homeobox gene GSX2. Brain. 2019;142(10):2965-2978.
2. Carelli S, Giallongo T, Rey F, Latorre E, Bordoni M, Mazzucchelli S, Gorio MC, Pansarasa O, Provenzani A, Cereda C, Di Giulio AM. HuR interacts with lincBRN1a and lincBRN1b during neuronal stem cells differentiation. RNA Biol. 2019;16(10):1471-1485.
3. Ferraro RM, Lanzi G, Masneri S, Barisani C, Piovani G, Savio G, Cattalini M, Galli J, Cereda C, Muzi-Falconi M, Orcesi S, Fazzi E, Giliani S. Generation of three iPSC lines from fibroblasts of a patient with Aicardi Goutières Syndrome mutated in TREX1. Stem Cell Res. 2019;41:101580.
4. Pansarasa O, Pistono C, Davin A, Bordoni M, Mimmi MC, Guaita A, Cereda C. Altered immune system in frailty: Genetics and diet may influence inflammation. Ageing Res Rev. 2019;54:100935.
5. Fantini V, Bordoni M, Scocozza F, Conti M, Scarian E, Carelli S, Di Giulio AM, Marconi S, Pansarasa O, Auricchio F, Cereda C. Bioink Composition and Printing Parameters for 3D Modeling Neural Tissue. Cells. 2019;8(8). pii: E830.
6. Mandrioli J, Crippa V, Cereda C, Bonetto V, Zucchi E, Gessani A, Ceroni M, Chio A, D'Amico R, Monsurrò MR, Riva N, Sabatelli M, Silani V, Simone IL, Sorarù G, Provenzani A, D'Agostino VG, Carra S, Poletti A. Proteostasis and ALS: protocol for a phase II, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre clinical trial for colchicine in ALS (Co-ALS). BMJ Open. 2019;9(5):e028486.
7. Garau J, Cavallera V, Valente M, Tonduti D, Sproviero D, Zucca S, Battaglia D, Battini R, Bertini E, Cappanera S, Chiapparini L, Crasà C, Crichiutti G, Dalla Giustina E, D'Arrigo S, De Giorgis V, De Simone M, Galli J, La Piana R, Messana T, Moroni I, Nardocci N, Panteghini C, Parazzini C, Pichiecchio A, Pini A, Ricci F, Saletti V, Salvatici E, Santorelli FM, Sartori S, Tinelli F, Uggetti C, Veneselli E, Zorzi G, Garavaglia B, Fazzi E, Orcesi S, Cereda C. Molecular Genetics and Interferon Signature in the Italian Aicardi Goutières Syndrome Cohort: Report of 12 New Cases and Literature Review. J Clin Med. 2019;8(5). pii: E750.
8. Bordoni M, Pansarasa O, Dell'Orco M, Crippa V, Gagliardi S, Sproviero D, Bernuzzi S, Diamanti L, Ceroni M, Tedeschi G, Poletti A, Cereda C. Nuclear Phospho-SOD1 Protects DNA from Oxidative Stress Damage in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. J Clin Med. 2019;8(5). pii: E729.
9. Johannesen KM, Gardella E, Encinas AC, Lehesjoki AE, Linnankivi T, Petersen MB, Lund ICB, Blichfeldt S, Miranda MJ, Pal DK, Lascelles K, Procopis P, Orsini A, Bonuccelli A, Giacomini T, Helbig I, Fenger CD, Sisodiya SM, Hernandez-Hernandez L, Krithika S, Rumple M, Masnada S, Valente M, Cereda C, Giordano L, Accorsi P, Bürki SE, Mancardi M, Korff C, Guerrini R, von Spiczak S, Hoffman-Zacharska D, Mazurczak T, Coppola A, Buono S, Vecchi M, Hammer MF, Varesio C, Veggiotti P, Lal D, Brünger T, Zara F, Striano P, Rubboli G, Møller RS. The spectrum of intermediate SCN8A-related epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2019;60(5):830-844.
10. Sproviero D, La Salvia S, Colombo F, Zucca S, Pansarasa O, Diamanti L, Costa A, Lova L, Giannini M, Gagliardi S, Lauranzano E, Matteoli M, Ceroni M, Malaspina A, Cereda C. Leukocyte Derived Microvesicles as Disease Progression Biomarkers in Slow Progressing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients. Front Neurosci. 2019;13:344.
11. Gagliardi S, Davin A, Bini P, Sinforiani E, Poloni TE, Polito L, Rivoiro C, Binetti G, Paterlini A, Benussi L, Ghidoni R, Vanacore N, Cereda C. A Novel Nonsense Angiogenin Mutation is Associated With Alzheimer Disease. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2019;33(2):163-165.
12. Diamanti L, Alfonsi E, Ferraro OE, Cereda C, Pansarasa O, Bastianello S, Pichiecchio A. A pilot study assessing T1-weighted muscle MRI in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Skeletal Radiol. 2019;48(4):569-575.
13. Zucca S, Gagliardi S, Pandini C, Diamanti L, Bordoni M, Sproviero D, Arigoni M, Olivero M, Pansarasa O, Ceroni M, Calogero R, Cereda C. RNA-Seq profiling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients and controls. Sci Data. 2019;6:190006.
14. Filosto M, Piccinelli SC, Palmieri I, Necchini N, Valente M, Zanella I, Biasiotto G, Lorenzo DD, Cereda C, Padovani A. A Novel Mutation in the Stalk Domain of KIF5A Causes a Slowly Progressive Atypical Motor Syndrome. J Clin Med. 2018;8(1). pii: E17.
15. Bordoni M, Rey F, Fantini V, Pansarasa O, Di Giulio AM, Carelli S, Cereda C. From Neuronal Differentiation of iPSCs to 3D Neuro-Organoids: Modelling and Therapy of Neurodegenerative Diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2018;19(12). pii: E3972.
Project Title:
Ferritin-nanocages for the anti-aging treatment based on curcuminoids
It is accepted that the world population is rapidly becoming older and this trend is associated with a wide range of social and clinical problems. Among them, the decline of cognitive function is particularly problematic as, in still not understood situations, it can degenerate in pathological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. 20 to 30% of healthy elderly shows a significant amyloid (Aβ) deposition with a reported relationship between Aβ deposition and measures of cognitive decline. Curcumin, on the other hand, was demonstrated, by in vitro studies, to reduce the natural predisposition of Aβ to accumulate by enhancing its clearance by the immune system. However, clinical trials did not provide clear evidence of its protective effects, probably because curcumin is almost insoluble in water, poorly adsorbed by the organism and rapidly degraded. In this context, this project will propose the use of nanoformulation aimed at improving the pharmacokinetics properties of curcumin will provide substantial benefits. The project aims to develop H Ferritin nanocages (HFn) as delivery systems for Curcumin (and for three other curcuminoids) to improve their solubility and to allow their delivery to the central nervous system. To test the anti-aging properties of the nanodrugs we will make use of primary cell cultures, transcriptomics analysis, telomeres length analysis.


Project Title:
Colchicine for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: a phase II, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, multicenter clinical trial
There is overwhelming evidence that disruption of the two main protein clearance pathways, the ubiquitin–proteasome system and autophagy, can be central components of disease mechanism in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and consequently targets of novel therapeutic compounds. The project is part of a clinical trial with colchicine, a drug which increase the expression of HSPB8 and of autophagy players blocking TDP-43 accumulation in neuronal cells. Colchicine has also an antinflammatory action: the crosstalk between autophagy and inflammatory signaling pathways is crucial for homeostasis. This study will contribute to the pharmacological research in ALS, a disease without an effective treatment, and allow to better understand the mechanisms underlying the disease through a full assessment of autophagy, protein aggregation, stress granules response, exosomes secretion and peripheral and CSF biomarkers of disease progression (including neurofilaments).