Luca Colnaghi

Luca Colnaghi is an Assistant Professor (Ricercatore RTDA) in Human Physiology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and Head of the Laboratory of 'Protein signaling in brain physiology and pathology' at the San Raffaele Institute in Milan. His research focuses on the role of ubiquitin-like proteins in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.

• Education: PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology (NYU), Master's in Functional Genomics (University of Milan, cum laude), and Bachelor's in Biotechnology (University of Milan)

His multidisciplinary research combines computational biology, neuroscience, and molecular biology to investigate protein signaling in brain disorders. Current work includes studying SUMO proteins, aggregation-prone proteins, and synaptic mechanisms using in vitro and in vivo models.

Recent publications (2021-2025) span Alzheimer's disease mechanisms, nanoplastic toxicity, Tau protein dynamics, and neurodevelopmental disorders. His work aligns with SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being through neurodegenerative disease research.

• Awards: BrightFocus Award (2019), Fellowships from Fondazione Umberto Veronesi (2018) and Columbia University (2012-2013)

Dr. Colnaghi leads a laboratory and teaches cellular/human physiology, emphasizing the integration of computational and experimental approaches to understand brain pathophysiology.