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Dr Lucy Privitera

Dr Lucy

Senior Lecturer in Basic Medical Sciences

Email: l.privitera@qmul.ac.uk
Room Number: Malta Campus

Profile

Dr. Lucy Privitera is a neurobiologist of learning and memory. Her research combines neuroscience, biology and pharmacology to address specific issues of the molecular mechanisms underlying learning and memory in both healthy conditions and in neurodegenerative diseases.

Lucy’s scientific expertise is ex-vivo and in-vivo electrophysiology, behavioral study, optogenetics  and biochemistry (IHC, WB).

During her undergraduate studies for the master’s degree in Motor Sciences Prevention and Rehabilitation at the School of Medicine at the university of Catania she researched on  “The methods to study mechanisms underlying learning and memory processes in Alzheimer’s Disease”.                                                      

After this she joined the PhD program in Applied Biomedical Sciences at the Univ. of Catania during which she spent 2 years at the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology in Columbia University in the City on New York (USA) where she worked on the “Role of NO-cGMP pathway in the synaptic and cognitive dysfunction of Alzheimer’s disease animal models” and on the “Physiological Role of amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s disease”. She graduated in March 2009.                      

She was postdoctoral researcher for 13 years and she worked in several projects at the University of Catania (Italy), University of Warwick (UK), University of Bradford (UK), University of Edinburgh (UK) and University of Dundee (UK). 

Lucy’s teaching expertise has remarkably developed through her active contribution to the modules “Human Physiology” and “Applied Physiology” at University of Catania for many years (2004-2013) during which she was also offered a temporary lectureship in “Human Physiology”, teaching undergraduate students in Speech Therapies and Acoustic-Aid Technician at School of Medicine. In the UK Lucy run tutorials for undergraduate students on Neuroscience and she’s been guest Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire where she also acted as external examiner for Master’s Degree.

She was basketball player, she loves cycling, running and swimming especially in the Mediterranean sea. She was also proficient diver (PADI Advanced and Nitrox licenses).

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