DrMarco Brancaccio

My group investigates the mechanisms driving circadian disruption in the prodromal stages of neurodegenerative diseases. We focus on the interplay of different cell-types (neurons and glia), brain areas and molecular pathways specifying circadian function, and their misregulation in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

I received my MSc degree in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy. After obtaining a PhD degree in Neuroscience from SISSA (International School for Advanced Studies) in Trieste, Italy, I joined Michael Hastings’ group in the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge (UK) to study the mechanisms of circadian timekeeping in the brain. I have pioneered viral delivery of genetically encoded indicators for live imaging of circadian calcium, voltage and gene expression, as well as pharmacogenetic manipulation of neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) (Brancaccio et al. 2013, Neuron; Brancaccio et al J. Neurosc. 2014).

In 2014, I established a novel independent research line addressing the role of neuronal-astrocytic interplay in circadian pacemaking. In this work, I have demonstrated that astrocytes of the SCN can impose their intrinsic tempo to the living mouse and described the underlying molecular and inter-cellular mechanisms (Brancaccio et al. 2017, Neuron; Hastings MH, Maywood ES, Brancaccio M., Nature Reviews Neurosc. 2018; Brancaccio et al. Science 2019). In October 2018, I joined the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London as a Lecturer and a UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) Principal Investigator to study the mechanisms driving circadian misregulation in the early stages of dementia. Here, I use a wide range of cutting-edge techniques, including live imaging and in vivo gene therapy to both investigate and harness circadian brain function with the aim of preventing/delaying dementia onset and progression.