Maria Pennuto is Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova.

I got the Master in Science degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy, in 1996.

In 2000, I obtained the PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Milan, Italy. During the PhD program, I studied the molecular mechanisms that regulate the interaction and sorting of the synaptic vesicle proteins (Mentor: Prof. F. Valtorta).

In between 2001-2004, I carried out a post-doctorate in the Lab of Dr L. Wrabetz at the S. Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, where I worked on the characterization of the pathogenetic mechanisms of neurodegeneration of a mouse model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth 1B neuropathy.

In 2005, I obtained a senior post-doctorate position at the NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, USA (2005-2008) (Mentor: Dr K. Fischbeck) followed by a staff scientist position at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA (2008-2009) (Mentor Dr J.P. Taylor), where I studied the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in polyglutamine diseases.

In 2009, I obtained a group leader position at the Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy, followed by a position of assistant and associate professor at the University of Trento since 2013.

Starting from 2017, I currently have a position of associate professor at the University of Padova. My lab is interested in dissecting the molecular mechanisms of disease pathogenesis in neurodegenerative diseases, including polyglutamine diseases and motor neuron diseases.