Antonio Sanz-Clemente

Antonio Sanz-Clemente is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Zaragoza (Spain).

During Dr. Sanz-Clemente’s training, he developed a keen focus on research that encompasses regulation of synaptic proteins trafficking by post-translational modifications and its consequences for synaptic function. As a post-doctoral fellow in Katherine Roche’s lab at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) he studied the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of glutamate receptors. In particular, Dr. Sanz-Clemente identified the molecular events that control the NMDA-type of glutamate receptors during development and contribute to synaptic maturation.

Dr. Sanz-Clemente received a K99 Pathway to Independence Award from the NIH, and in 2014 he was recruited as faculty at Northwestern University. The Sanz-Clemente Lab utilizes a multidisciplinary approach including biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, pharmacology as well as a variety of imaging techniques for elucidating how synaptic receptors are controlled during development, in response to experience or other stimuli and what is their impact on synaptic function. Similarly, his research program investigates how the dysregulation of these mechanisms lead to synaptic alterations and, eventually, to neurological disorders.