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Francesca Gilli, MS, PhD

Contact Information

Professional Interests

Dr. Gilli’s principal research interest is understanding the cellular and molecular pathways that contribute to neuroinflammation and central nervous system (CNS)-related tissue damage in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The goal of Dr. Gilli’s current research is to elucidate how inflammation contributes to neurodegeneration and disability progression. The overall intention of this work is to identify new therapeutic targets or strategies that will improve our ability to manage progressive MS as well as other neurodegenerative diseases.

Grant Information

Genzyme-Sanofi: 2019-2020 -(PI) Antiviral effects of Teriflunomide.
Italian MS Society 2018/R/6: 2019-2020 -(PI) Sex effects on intrathecal humoral inflammation and disease progression in multiple sclerosis.
Hitchcock Foundation Scholar Award: 2017-2019 – (PI) lntrathecal B-cell response pattern for improved diagnosis and management of progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
Hitchcock Foundation Pilot Award: 2016-2017 – (PI) Plasmalemma vesicle associated protein (PV1) as a novel target in neuroinflammation.
Biogen Idec Research Grant: 2014-2016 – (PI) Interaction of PEG-IFNβ with Antibodies to Native IFNβ
Hitchcock Foundation Pilot Award: 2014-2015 – (PI) Toward reliable biomarkers in MS: Microarray analysis of spinal cord gene expression in animal models of Multiple Sclerosis.

Courses Taught

Lecturer - Scientific basis of diseases 1 (PEMM 101)
Lecturer - Ethical and Responsible Conduct of Research (PEMM 124)
Lecturer - Neurobiology of Diseases (PEMM 211)
Lecturer - Neuroscience II -Neuroimmunology module (PEMM 212)
Lecturer - Advanced Biomedical Sciences (PEMM 271)

Biography

Born in Italy, Dr. Gilli earned a M.S. in Medical Biotechnology and a Ph.D. in Human Biology from the Università degli Studi di Torino (Italy). She then completed her postdoctoral research in neuroimmunology at Università degli Studi di Torino (Italy), and University of Basel (Switzerland). Her postdoctoral research focused on the immunogenicity and biological action of IFNβ therapy in patients with MS, and, later, on the molecular mechanisms behind the adaptive immune response in pregnancy in MS. She also completed a Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Fellowship at the Università degli Studi di Torino (Italy) in 2011. In 2014, Dr. Gilli joined the faculty in the Neurology Department of the Geisel School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor, where she works as a basic scientist affiliated with the Multiple Sclerosis Center at Dartmouth.