Maria Grazia Spillantini

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Maria Grazia Spillantini

Spillantini was interviewed for a young researchers fellowship in 1991 by Nobel prize winner Rita Levi-Montalcini. On Levi-Montalcini's death in 2013, Spillantini told The Scientist magazine, “I was very nervous because she was a very well-known scientist. And it was really for me one of nicest experiences because she was really down to earth.” ^[8]

As of 2019^[update], Spillantini is based at the University of Cambridge, where she is Professor of Molecular Neurology at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. Her research examines the mechanisms leading to

Throughout her career, Spillantini has conducted a wide variety of research. In fact, Spillantini has upwards of 240 publications in the field of neuroscience.[9] In 2014, Spillantini and her colleague Aviva Tolkovsky received a NC3Rs Project grant. Following this, they made advances in the way scientists are able to mimic Alzheimer's in mice, minimizing the amount of mice necessary.^[10] Spillantini and her team have also conducted studies on anle138b, a protein that affects clumping of alpha-synuclein. They treated mice with alpha-synuclein clumping- similar to what is seen in Parkinson's disease- with anle138b, and observed a reduction in this clumping.^[11] In 2022, Spillantini and Tolkovsky gained additional funding from Alzheimer's Research UK for their research concerning dementia. This funding goes towards Spillantini's studies on MMP3, an enzyme whose activity is potentially connected to dementia and other related diseases.^[12]

Her research has led to a greater understanding of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, and has created new possibilities for therapies that target these diseases.^[13]

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