Associate Professor

Prof. Antonietta Mele is an Associate Professor in Pharmacology at Bari University-Italy. Over the years, Prof. Mele has had the opportunity to contribute significantly to research, teaching, and the improvement of educational practices in her field. Prof. Mele research activity focused on the biophysical and pharmacological characterization of skeletal muscle ion channels in animal models of muscle disuse (microgravity, aging) and several neurodegenerative diseases (hypokalaemic periodic paralysis, amytrophic lateral sclerosis). The interest in skeletal muscle subsequently focused on broader experimental investigations aimed at evaluating the structural and morphological changes in skeletal muscle in several
animal models and oriented towards translational research. In this context, she led research group that manages a small animal ultrasound platform acquired as a part of an infrastructure enhancement project by MIUR (PONa3_00395). Thanks to participation in specific courses, the aforementioned ultrasound platform has been validated and adapted to international standards for ultrasound assessments of both skeletal muscle and heart of small animals. This has allowed to use a new approach as well as to establish several collaborations. Recently my work “Development of Growth Hormone Secretagogues as novel therapeutical tools for the treatment of multiple sclerosis” has been supported by funding from
PRIN (Prot. 2022YCHWY5). In this project, several experimental approach will be applied to evaluate the efficacy of new compounds testing on mice suffering from the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which represents a widely accepted model of multiple sclerosis, evaluating in in vivo and ex vivo studies their effects on the central and peripheral hallmarks of the pathology. Prof. Mele research has resulted in numerous publications in high-impact, peerreviewed journals, and she has had the privilege of collaborating with colleagues both nationally and internationally, helping to build an interdisciplinary research network. Throughout her career, Prof. Mele has had the privilege of teaching a wide range of students, from undergraduates to doctoral candidates.