Adriana Maggi

Full Professor of Pharmacology, University of Milan. Director of the Center for Pharmacological Biotechnologies at the University of Milan.

Currently a full professor of Pharmacological Biotechnologies at the Department of Pharmacological Sciences at the University of Milan. Graduated in Biological Sciences from the University of Milan, she began her research career with a five-year stay at the Medical Center in Houston where she conducted research at Baylor College of Medicine and teaching activities at the University of Texas, Department of Neurobiology. Returning to Italy in the 1980s as a researcher at the Faculty of Pharmacy, she was the creator of a new form of collaboration between University and Industry with the foundation of a university laboratory at the Milanese headquarters of the pharmaceutical industry Hoffman-LaRoche. Here she began a series of studies on the effects of estrogens in the Central Nervous System and for the generation of biotechnological drugs aimed at modulating the activity of estrogens and progestins.

In the 90s, recalled by the University of Milan to the position of Associate Professor to direct the Center for Pharmacological Biotechnologies, she continues her research in the field of molecular endocrinology. Also coordinating research groups including European laboratories, she generates innovative pharmacological research models based on the engineering of cells and experimental animals. In 2004, she became the Director of the Center of Excellence for neurodegenerative diseases, one of the three Centers of Excellence at the University of Milan.

Prof. Maggi leads a group of about twenty researchers and students at the Department of Pharmacological Sciences of the University of Milan. Her research interests are focused on understanding the physiological role of estrogens and their receptors, particularly in the female body. Current studies aim to define therapeutic approaches that, during aging, maintain women's defenses against diseases characterized by chronic inflammatory processes typically associated with menopause. These studies involve the use of highly innovative methodologies based on molecular imaging, the subject of 5 international patents. In 2005, Prof. Maggi founded TOP srl, a spin-off of the University of Milan, of which she is currently President.

The studies of the research team led by Professor Maggi are funded by numerous public and private institutions at a national and supranational level such as: the European Community, the US National Institutes of Health, the Italian Ministry of University and Research, the Italian Association for Cancer Research, Telethon, Cariplo, and International Pharmaceutical Industries.

The results of the research carried out have appeared in more than 150 publications in the major journals of Medicine, Biochemistry, and Neuroscience, have been the subject of three patents, and have been presented at national and international conferences and seminars in laboratories around the world. Professor Maggi is a member of Italian, European, and American Societies of Endocrinology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience. Currently, Professor Maggi is a member of the editorial board of Molecular Endocrinology, Endocrinology, Journal of Molecular Endocrinology. For her work in the field of Molecular Endocrinology, Professor Maggi received the annual medal of the European Society of Endocrinology in London in 2005. Selected Publications:

1. CIANA P., RAVISCIONI M., VEGETO E., MUSSI P., QUE I., PARKER M.LOWIK C. and MAGGI A. In vivo imaging of transcriptionally active estrogen receptor, Nature Medicine, (2003) 9: 82 – 86
2. CUZZOCREA.S., MAZZON E., DUGO L., GENOVESE T., VEGETO E., CAPUTI A., and MAGGI A. iNOS mediates bone loss in ovariectomized mouse, Endocrinology, (2003), 144: 1098-107.
3. MAGGI A., CIGNARELLA A., BRUSADELLI A., BOLEGO C., NARDI F., PINNA C., PUGLISI L. Diabetes undermines estrogen control of iNOS activity in rat aortic smooth muscle cells with overexpression of estrogen receptor beta, Circulation, (2003), 108: 211-217
4. CIANA, GHISLETTI S., MUSSI P., EBERINI I., VEGETO E. and MAGGI A. ERalpha, a molecular switch converting TGFalpha-mediated proliferation into differentiation in neuroblastoma cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, (2003) 278: 31737-44
5. VEGETO E., BELCREDITO S., ETTERI S., GHISLETTI S., BRUSADELLI A., MEDA C., KRUSH, DUPONT, CIANA P., CHAMBON P., and MAGGI A. Erα mediates the brain anti-inflammatory activity of estradiol, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, (2003) 100: 9614-9618
6. CIANA P, BRENA A, SPARACIARI P, BONETTI E, DI LORENZO D, MAGGI A. Estrogenic activities in rodent estrogen-free diets. Endocrinology. (2005) 146: 5144-50.
7. GHISLETTI S., MEDA C., MAGGI A., and VEGETO E. Estrogen inhibits inflammatory gene expression by controlling NF-kB intracellular transport. Molecular and Cellular Biology (2005), 8: 2957-68.
8. Vegeto E, Belcredito S, Ghisletti S, Meda C, Etteri S, Maggi A. The endogenous estrogen status regulates microglia reactivity in animal models of neuroinflammation. Endocrinology. (2006) 147:2263-72. Epub 2006 Feb 9.
9. MUSSI P, LIAO L, PARK SE, CIANA P, MAGGI A, KATZENELLENBOGEN BS, XU J, O'MALLEY BW. Haploinsufficiency of the corepressor of estrogen receptor activity (REA) enhances estrogen receptor function in the mammary gland. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. (2006) 103:16716-21. Epub 2006 Oct 25
10. CIANA P, BISERNI A, TATANGELO L, TIVERON C, SCIARRONI AF, OTTOBRINI L, MAGGI A A novel PPRE-Luciferase reporter mouse reveals gender specificity of peroxisome proliferators activated receptor activity in liver. Mol. Endocrinology (2007) 21:388-400. Epub 2006 Dec 7.
11. BISERNI A, GIANNESSI F, SCIARRONI AF, MILAZZO FM, MAGGI A and CIANA P. In vivo imaging reveals selective peroxisome proliferator activated receptor modulator activity of the synthetic ligand 3-(1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-3-t-butylthio-5-isopropylindol-2-yl)-2,2-dimethylpropanoic acid (MK-886). Mol Pharmacol. 73:1434-43 (2008). Epub 2008 Feb 21.
12. BRUFANI M, CECCACCI F, FILOCAMO L, GAROFALO B, JOUDIOUX R, LA BELLA A, LEONELLI F, MIGNECO LM, MARINI BETTOLO R, FARINA PM, ASHCROFT GS, ROUTLEY C, HARDMAN M, MEDA C, RANDO G, and MAGGI A. Novel Locally Active Estrogens Accelerate Cutaneous Wound Healing. A Preliminary Study. Mol Pharm. 2009 Jan 14. [Epub ahead of print]
13. DI LORENZO D., RANDO G., CIANA P., MAGGI A. Molecular imaging, an innovative methodology for whole body profiling of endocrine disrupter action. Toxicological Sciences (2008) 106: 304 – 311.
14. STELL A., BELCREDITO S., CIANA P., MAGGI A. Molecular imaging provides novel insights on estrogen receptor activity in mouse brain. Molecular Imaging, (2008) 7: 11 - 21.
15. RANDO G., RAMACHANDRAN B., REBECCHI M., CIANA P., MAGGI A. Differential effect of pure isoflavones and soymilk on estrogen receptor activity in mice. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. (2009) 15: 288-97.
16. VEGETO E., CUZZOCREA S., CRISAFULLI C., MAZZON E., SALA A., KRUST A, MAGGI A. Estrogen receptor-alpha as a drug candidate for preventing lung inflammation. Endocrinology (2010) 151: 174-184.