Affiliation: East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology

The main objective of Dr. Didonna’s research activity consists in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying central nervous system (CNS) autoimmunity, with an emphasis on disease progression and neurodegenerative phenotypes. For this purpose, he has been extensively using in vivo models of neuroinflammation in combination with advanced mouse genetics and omics technologies. Dr. Didonna earned his PhD degree in Functional and Structural Genomics at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Italy, studying the effects of prion replication on neuronal signaling under the mentorship of Dr. Giuseppe Legname. He subsequently joined the lab of Dr. Puneet Opal at Northwestern University, to complete his first postdoctoral fellowship on the molecular basis of spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1). In 2013, he pursued a second postdoctoral training in the lab directed by Dr. Jorge Oksenberg at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), focusing on the functional characterization of genetic determinants underpinning multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility. After transitioning to a faculty position still at UCSF, Dr. Didonna further expanded his research efforts to the analysis of the events underlying MS progression. In 2021, Dr. Didonna started his own laboratory in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology of Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.