Alessandro Vitriolo

Alessandro Vitriolo is an Affiliate Scientist in the Testa Group and a Research Fellow at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine. His research spans epigenetics, neurodevelopment, and human evolution, with expertise in bulk and single-cell omics data analysis. He previously worked in computational structural biology for five years, focusing on drug development and repurposing.

• Current Work: Developing methods to integrate Genome Architecture Mapping (GAM) with single-cell multiomics under Prof. Ana Pombo to study chromatin dynamics in excitatory neurons.
• Scientific Awards: EMBO Exchange Grant Fellowship recipient.

His research bridges neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., Williams-Beuren and 7q microduplication syndromes) with epigenetic mechanisms, particularly enhanceropathies and chromatin regulation. Recent work explores neuronal differentiation, protein synthesis, and REST-mediated excitability through multi-omics integration.

Scientific Contributions:

• Investigated molecular underpinnings of 7q11.23 copy number variations (CNVs) in neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Linked self-domestication theories to genomic homology, analyzing cognitive-behavioral phenotypes.
• Elucidated roles of chromatin modulators in human cognition and neurodevelopmental pathologies.