Livia Cosentino

My long-term research goal involve the development of a comprehensive understanding of key brain mechanisms and how their alterations contribute to mental disorders. My academic training and research experience to date have provided me with an excellent background in behavioral neuroscience in both preclinical and clinical settings. As an undergraduate at Sapienza University, I conducted research on the efficacy of novel pharmacotherapies for the treatment of Rett syndrome behavioral and physiological alterations in rodent models, under the supervision of Dr. Bianca De Filippis (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma, Italy). This resulted in my first publication as a co-first author, as well as an invitation to present a poster at the International Meeting on steroids and Nervous system in Torino, Italy. For my PhD training in cotutelle de thèse between Sapienza and Heidelberg Universities, I have moved into the fields of stress and trauma vulnerability by studying the involvement of epigenetics in defining interindividual differences in risk or resilience to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) under the joint supervision of Dr. De Filippis and Prof. Dr. h.c. Dr. h.c. Herta Flor (Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany). This transition, and the chance to work in projects involving patients profoundly raised my awareness on the importance of translational research being taken forward to find solutions to a challenge as great as mental disorders. I am firmly convinced that personalized medicine, with a special focus on gender differences, is the way to proceed in science for a successful battle in favor of mental health.