Bio
Dr. Yuen Gao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at Michigan State University, with a strong commitment to uncovering the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying human diseases. His research focuses on investigating the role of histone covalent modification enzymes in brain development and disease. Dr. Gao employs advanced integrative approaches, such as single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and single-cell ATAC sequencing (scATAC-seq), to identify unique cell clusters. He further combines cutting-edge imaging techniques and behavioral analyses to elucidate the functions of specific cell populations in brain development and related disorders.

Talk
Presentation title: Neuroinflammatory Pathways in Pain and Mood Disorders

Bio
Tahmineh Mokhtari, Ph.D., holds dual doctorates in Anatomical Sciences from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Neuroscience from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. She previously served as Assistant Professor at Semnan University of Medical Sciences and later as Associate Professor at Hubei University of Medicine, where she taught histology and embryology while conducting neuroscience research. She later worked as a Visiting Scholar at University of California, Davis, focusing on soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors as potential therapeutic targets for spinal cord injury and Alzheimer’s disease. She is currently a Project Scientist at UC Davis Health, where her research focuses on neuroinflammatory pathways in neurological disorders. Her work integrates in silico, in vitro, and in vivo approaches to investigate molecular mechanisms and identify therapeutic targets involved in neuroinflammation and the pathogenesis of neurological disorders.

Talk
Presentation title: Microbiome–Immunity Axis in Neurodegenerative Disease: ALS Model

Bio
In 1996 Amedeo Amedei graduated with full marks and honors in Biology at Florence University. He started his scientific career studying the role of Th1/Th2 lymphocytes in GVHD, atopic dermatitis and kidney rejection. Afterwards, he examined the role of Helicobacter pylori-specific immune response in gastric diseases. In 2003 he began a doctor’s degree in "Clinical and Experimental Medicine". In 2005 he became a researcher at the Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine (University of Florence), where in 2015 he was appointed Associate Professor. In fact, he is Full Professor of Immunology and President of the Master's Degree in Nursing and Midwifery Sciences. Prof. Amedei has focused his scientific interests on cancer immunology and the role of the microbiota–immunity axis in inflammatory-correlated diseases (mainly Autoimmunity, Cancer, Neurodegenerative Disorders). More recently he started a new research topic: micro/nanoplastics and human health. The great quality of his international profile is documented by scientific production: 313 peer reviewed articles (h-index: 60 and 14,652 Citations), 12 book chapters and one patent (https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=6603007335 ). In detail, 286 out of 310 focused on the microbiome–immunity axis (153 on immunity and 133 in microbiome). The Prof. Amedei is serving as an editorial board member of 13 international journals, as Referee of 43 Journals, and as Co-Editor-Chief of one Journal. Finally, he carries out activities as scientific reviewer for international research projects of private and public entities. From 2016, he has been in the Scientific Council of “Toscana Life Sciences” (TLS). To date he received more than 10 million euro by different proposals funded by several funding agencies, including Europe Commission, Italian Minister of Health, Tuscany Region, NASA and local and international Foundations.