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Trinity Translational Medicine Institute

Assoc. Prof. Daniela Tropea

Associate Professor, Psychiatry

  • Research Institute:

    • Discipline of Psychiatry; Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI)

  • Contact e-mail:
  • Research Area(s):

    • Schizophrenia and Rett Syndrome.

Research Description:

I study the molecular mechanisms involved in neurodevelopmental disorders with a particular interest in Schizophrenia and Rett Syndrome. I was the first to show that Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) controls brain plasticity during postnatal development. My first translational work on IGF1 and Rett syndrome stands out for its clinical relevance. Rett syndrome is a severe disorder that lacks a treatment: I showed that IGF1, a growth factor used in children with growth impairments, is able to ameliorate the symptoms of the disease in a mouse model of Rett, and therefore has the potential of leading to a treatment for Rett and other neurodevelopmental disorders (Tropea et al., 2009).