Maria Pia Abbracchio is an Italian pharmacologist who researches the biochemical effect of drugs at the cellular level who has conducted research all over the world and is one of the scientists

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational content-driven technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and maintains its headquarters at 1 ...

has named as most cited scientists since 2006. She is known for her work with purinergic receptors and identification of

GPR17 Uracil nucleotide/cysteinyl leukotriene receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor that in humans is encoded by the ''GPR17'' gene located on chromosome 2 at position q21. The actual activating ligands for and some functions of this receptor are dis ...

. In 2014, she was awarded the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

for her individual scientific accomplishments.

Biography

Maria Pia Abbracchio was born in Milan and completed her initial education there. In 1979, she earned a master's degree in pharmacy and then studied as a post-graduate from 1980 to 1981 at the

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) is a public academic health science center in Houston, Texas, United States. It was created in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents. It is located ...

. In 1984, she completed a specialization in

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...

from the

University of Milan The University of Milan (; ), officially abbreviated as UNIMI, or colloquially referred to as La Statale ("the State niversity), is a public university, public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Eu ...

, a PhD in Experimental Medicine at Rome in 1988, and post-doctoral studies as an Honorary Research Fellow at the

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

from 1992 to 1993. In 1994, she worked with Professor

Geoffrey Burnstock Geoffrey Burnstock (10 May 1929 – 2 June 2020) was a neurobiologist and President of the Autonomic Neuroscience Centre of the UCL Medical School. He is best known for coining the term purinergic signalling, which he discovered in the 197 ...

, the scientist who named

purinergic receptor Purinergic receptors, also known as purinoceptors, are a family of plasma membrane molecules that are found in almost all mammalian tissues. Within the field of purinergic signalling, these receptors have been implicated in learning and memory, ...

s and then she became the founder of the Purine Club, a non-profit scientific association for international researchers studying the

pathophysiology Pathophysiology (or physiopathology) is a branch of study, at the intersection of pathology and physiology, concerning disordered physiological processes that cause, result from, or are otherwise associated with a disease or injury. Pathology is ...

of purinergic transmission. Since 2003, she has worked with an interdisciplinary group of scientists to improve scientific research at institutions both within Italy and abroad. In 2006, Abbracchio presented findings at a symposium in Atlanta for the Society for Neuroscience which illustrates the approach of using biochemical compounds at the cellular level to inhibit brain damage after stroke. Her work has proven that G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR)s play a role in controlling cellular behavior. By combining research efforts from various scientific disciplines, scientists are looking at

neurodegenerative diseases A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mul ...

Parkinson's Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become more prevalen ...

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

and even heart attacks and stroke to see how various drugs interact with GPCRs. One receptor identified early in her research by Abbracchio, called GPR17, has shown that it reacts with certain drugs to reduce brain inflammations and improve memory and learning abilities. Abbracchio is a full professor of pharmacology at the

and directs a team of 12 scientific researchers at the Research Observatory of the university. She has authored or co-authored some 150 scientific papers and since 2006 has been listed on the

list of most cited researchers. In 2014, she was awarded the level of Commander in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the President of Italy,

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...

References

External links

Personal website

WorldCat Publications list
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbracchio, Maria 20th-century births Living people Italian pharmacologists University of Milan alumni Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Academic staff of the University of Milan 21st-century Italian women scientists 20th-century Italian women scientists Year of birth missing (living people)