Italia Di Liegro

Italia Di Liegro serves as a Contract Teacher in the Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics at the School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Palermo. She maintains regular office hours at multiple locations including Palermo's Viale delle Scienze campus (Building 16/STEBICEF) and CEFPAS in Caltanissetta, demonstrating her commitment to student accessibility across different sites.

Dr. Di Liegro's research spans several decades with a consistent focus on cellular and molecular neuroscience. Her early work centered on thyroid hormones and chromatin structure in brain development, while her more recent research has evolved to investigate extracellular vesicles as critical mediators of cell-to-cell communication in the nervous system. She has made significant contributions to understanding how astrocytes contribute to blood-brain barrier function and how extracellular vesicles facilitate information exchange between brain cells in both physiological and pathological conditions.

Analysis of her publication history reveals a clear research trajectory moving from fundamental molecular mechanisms to translational applications. Her recent work (2020-2024) prominently features studies on extracellular vesicles in brain tumor progression, epigenetic regulation of neural function, and development of therapeutic approaches for neurological disorders. She has developed innovative in vitro models using poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds to study astrocyte behavior and glioma development, bridging basic science with potential clinical applications.

Dr. Di Liegro has supervised numerous graduate theses and mentored students in neuroscience research, though specific student names are not listed in the available materials. Her multidisciplinary approach connects molecular mechanisms with clinical applications, particularly in developing training programs for Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis patients.

Her laboratory work primarily focuses on in vitro models of brain cells, with extensive characterization of astrocyte behavior, blood-brain barrier models, and glioma cell lines. She has pioneered methods for studying cell migration and differentiation using specialized 3D culture systems, contributing significantly to our understanding of brain development, neurological disorders, and cancer progression.