Keynote Lecture Title: “Microglia at the Brain–Body Interface: From Peripheral Signals to Brain Function and Behavior”
Michela Matteoli
Humanitas University and Humanitas Research Hospital, Milano, Italy
Michela Matteoli is Full Professor of Pharmacology at Humanitas University, where she serves as Rector’s Delegate for Research. She is also Director of the Neuroscience Program at Humanitas Research Hospital. Previously, she served as Director of the CNR Neuroscience Institute.
She is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), of the Academia Europaea and of the prestigious Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the oldest European academy. She serves/served in several international scientific committees, including the European Research Council (ERC), the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and the Harvard-Armenise Foundation.
Matteoli has received various prizes: in 2013 she was awarded the Mid-Career Mentoring Award by the prestigious magazine Nature, for having inspired a generation of young scientists. She also received the Atena prize (2015), the Feltrinelli prize for Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology (2019) and the Marcello Sgarlata prize (2022) for scientific merits. She was awarded with the Porto Venere prize (2024) for social contribution through scientific dissemination.
Her research focuses on the interplay between the immune system and brain function, particularly in the formation and regulation of neural circuits. Over the years, her work has been supported by several national and international funding agencies, including the European Research Council, from which she received an ERC Advanced Grant in 2022.