Dr. Paola Mantuano is a tenure-track Assistant Professor (RTDb) of Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacy – Drug Sciences, University of Bari, and has been a member of Prof. Annamaria De Luca’s Research Unit since 2013. She graduated cum laude in Medical Biotechnologies and Molecular Medicine in 2012 and earned a PhD in Biochemical and Pharmacological Sciences in 2016. Her research focuses on pharmacological and translational studies of rare, inherited (e.g., muscular dystrophies, genetic epilepsies, ALS) and acquired (e.g., disuse atrophy and sarcopenia) neuromuscular disorders, through integrated, multidisciplinary in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro approaches. Main objectives are: 1) to identify
and validate novel disease-related biomarkers and druggable targets; 2) to validate new or repurposed pharmacological approaches; 3) to better understand genotype-phenotype correlation; 4) to evaluate the therapeutic potential and safety of DNA-/RNA-based nanotherapies in preclinical models; 5) to develop disease-based innovative screening platforms (i.e., patients-derived organoids). Her research career has been further enriched by international exchange activities as a visiting researcher at foreign academic institutions, i.e., BIDMC | Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital (Boston, USA, 2019), Royal Veterinary College (London, UK, 2022) and LUMC (Leiden, The Netherlands, 2024). She is part of the TREAT-NMD working group for the harmonization of protocols and guidelines for preclinical studies in animal models of neuromuscular diseases, sharing her main expertise on functional and muscle physiology techniques. Dr. Mantuano is author of over 30 publications in high-impact journals (575 citations, h-index 15). She actively disseminates her research at national and international conferences and meetings, and her work has been recognized with awards, including the 2024 Prix Galien Italia for Translational Research in pharmacology. Most recently, she has been funded with an AFMTéléthon Trampoline Grant, which will allow her to expand her research activities.