Daniele Piomelli is an Italian-born American scientist. He studied

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

in New York City, with James H. Schwartz and Eric R. Kandel at

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irvin ...

(PhD, 1983–1988) and later with

Paul Greengard Paul Greengard (December 11, 1925 – April 13, 2019) was an American neuroscientist best known for his work on the molecular and cellular function of neurons. In 2000, Greengard, Arvid Carlsson and Eric Kandel were awarded the Nobel Prize fo ...

at the

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

(Post-doc, 1988–1990). Two of his mentors (Kandel and Greengard) received in 2000 the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

for their contributions to medicine. After working at the

INSERM The (Inserm, ) is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. History and organisation Inserm was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health. Inserm is the only public research institution ...

in Paris (1990–1995) and at the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla (1995–1998) with Nobel Prize winner

Gerald Edelman Gerald Maurice Edelman (; July 1, 1929 – May 17, 2014) was an American biologist who shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work with Rodney Robert Porter on the immune system. Edelman's Nobel Prize-winning research conc ...

, he joined the University of California Irvine School of Medicine, where he is now Louise Turner Arnold Chair in Neurosciences and Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry. He is also founding director of the department of Drug Discovery and Development (D3) at the

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia The Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) (in English: Italian Institute of Technology) is a scientific research centre based in Genoa (Italy, EU). Its main goal is the advancement of science, in Italy and worldwide, through projects and discove ...

in Genova, Italy. He is also the editor of ''

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research ''Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Mary Ann Liebert since 2016 and "dedicated to the scientific, medical, and psychosocial exploration of clinical cannabis, cannabinoids, and the bioch ...

'' and a board member of the non-profit International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines. Piomelli has made important contributions to the understanding of

lipid Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing ...

mediator function in the

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

and

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...

. He elucidated the

biochemical pathways In biochemistry, a metabolic pathway is a linked series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell. The reactants, products, and intermediates of an enzymatic reaction are known as metabolites, which are modified by a sequence of chemical ...

involved in the formation and deactivation of the lipid-derived

endocannabinoids Cannabinoids () are several structural classes of compounds found primarily in the ''Cannabis'' plant or as synthetic compounds. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (delta-9-THC), the primary psychoact ...

–

anandamide Anandamide (ANA), also referred to as ''N''-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) is a fatty acid neurotransmitter belonging to the fatty acid derivative group known as N-acylethanolamine (NAE). Anandamide takes its name from the Sanskrit word ''ananda ...

and

2-arachidonoylglycerol 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is an endocannabinoid, an endogenous agonist of the CB1 receptor and the primary endogenous ligand for the CB2 receptor. It is an ester formed from the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid and glycerol. It is pres ...

– and uncovered various physiological roles played by these compounds. Additionally, he described the functions of two lipid amides –

palmitoylethanolamide Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is an endogenous fatty acid amide, and lipid modulator. A main target of PEA is proposed to be the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-α). PEA also has affinity to cannabinoid-like G-coupled recept ...

(PEA) and

oleoylethanolamide Oleoylethanolamide (OEA) is an endogenous peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha ( PPAR-α) agonist. It is a naturally occurring ethanolamide lipid that regulates feeding and body weight in vertebrates ranging from mice to pythons. OEA ...

– in the control of pain and feeding, and identified the cellular receptors involved in such functions. Collaborating with Italian chemists, Giorgio Tarzia (

University of Urbino The University of Urbino Carlo Bo (, ''UniUrb'') is an Italian university located in Urbino, in the region of Marche, in north-eastern central Italy. The main campus occupies numerous buildings throughout the historic Urbino town center and the ...

‘Carlo Bo’) and Marco Mor (

University of Parma The University of Parma () is a public university located in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Organized into nine departments, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. As of 2016, it had approximately 26,000 students. History During the ...

), he developed the first systemically active inhibitors of the degradation of anandamide (

Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase Fatty-acid amide hydrolase 1 (FAAH) is a member of the serine hydrolase family of enzymes. It was first shown to break down anandamide (AEA), an ''N''-acylethanolamine (NAE) in 1993. In humans, it is encoded by the gene ''FAAH''.; Function ...

inhibitors), PEA (N-Acylethanolamide Acid Amidase inhibitors), and

ceramide Ceramides are a family of waxy lipid molecules. A ceramide is composed of sphingosine and a fatty acid joined by an amide bond. Ceramides are found in high concentrations within the cell membrane of Eukaryote, eukaryotic cells, since they are co ...

(Acid Ceramidase inhibitors).Realini N, Solorzano C, Pagliuca C, Pizzirani D, Armirotti A, Luciani R, Costi MP, Bandiera T, Piomelli D (2013) “Discovery of highly potent acid ceramidase inhibitors with in vitro tumor chemosensitizing activity”. Science Reports 3:1035. . Daniele Piomelli is scientific cofounder of Kadmus Pharmaceuticals and Thesan Pharmaceuticals.

References

External links

Laboratory webpage

Neurotree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piomelli, Daniele Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American neuroscientists Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni University of California, Irvine faculty Inserm people