Prof. Marcella Canton
Curriculum Vitae
Scopus ID: 7004910913
During my PhD training, I began my research on mitochondrial physiology and ion transport under the supervision of G.F. Azzone, one of the founding Fathers of Bioenergetics. My education in Cellular and Molecular Biology was completed with a long-term stay under the supervision of F. Di Lisa, where I characterized mitochondrial function in intact cells in anoxic conditions. I provided evidence of the mechanisms underlying the PUVA therapy (psoralen +UVA) and highlighted the central role of mitochondria. In parallel, my research interest has been focused on the study of the oxidative modifications of myofibrillar proteins. I demonstrated that the oxidation of myofibrillar proteins correlates linearly with contractile dysfunction. This study has been extended to the oxidative modifications of skeletal muscle in muscular dystrophy. I provided evidence that the excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) observed in two different murine models of muscular dystrophy and in myoblasts from patients affected by collagen VI myopathies is mainly due to monoamine oxidase (MAO) overactivation. Moreover, I highlighted a causal link between MAO-dependent ROS production and contractile impairment thereby providing the rationale for a translational study of MAO inhibitors for treatment of muscle dystrophy. To this aim, I have been funded and I coordinated my own group within Di Lisa’s one, strictly collaborating with Dr. Vitiello and Dr. Blaauw (Padova University). A few years ago, I started a collaboration with A. Viola’s and B. Molon’s team (Pediatric Research Institute “Città della Speranza”, Padova, IT), that have a long-standing and outstanding expertise in immunology. Thanks to their synergistic collaboration, my group is currently focused at characterizing the role of MAOB in the innate immune system and in inflammatory diseases.
Positions, Scientific Appointments and Honors Positions and Employment
Current Positions
01/04/2022: Associate Professor of Biochemistry (05/E1 – BIO/10), University of Padova, Dept of Biomedical Sciences, Padova, Italy.
01/01/2017: PI at the Pediatric Research Institute “Città della Speranza” leading the “Monoamine oxidases in innate immunity” lab.
Previous Positions
01/01/2006-31/03/2021: Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Biochemistry (05/E1 – BIO/10), University of Padova, Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, Padova, Italy.
Supervision of Graduate Students and Post-doctoral Fellows
7 post-doctoral fellows, 6 PhD students and 105 master students at the Dept of Biological Chemistry, and at the Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Italy.