Instructor

Research Areas
Newborn Neurons in the Adult Hippocampal Network

Biography

Dr. Dieni is working on revealing the cellular mechanisms by which adult-born neurons contribute to adult neurogenesis function and understanding neurosteroid regulation of neuronal excitability and plasticity in the vestibular system. Her long-term goal is to combine the experience in both areas in an independent research program that investigates how hormones regulate adult neurogenesis and mood disorders. She has an extensive background in synaptic neurophysiology, with specific expertise in functional outcomes of adult neurogenesis and neurosteroid-mediated plasticity. Moreover she worked in a short term project on understanding the aging-related degeneration of the neural circuitry in the visual cortex, using in vivo and in vitro approaches. She received her Master Degree in Biology from the University of Perugia, Italy where she also obtained her Doctorate in Neurophysiology and Electrophysiology. During this period her research interests have focused on understanding the synaptic mechanisms that mediate structural and functional changes during experience-dependent plasticity in vestibular nuclei, and how these processes can be modulated by the steroids synthesized directly in the brain, so-called neurosteroids. After completion of her doctoral training, Dr. Dieni was recruited in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a postdoctoral fellow. She began studies in the field of adult hippocampal neurogenesis exploring how newborn neurons survive and integrate, and how these processes are modified by aging, exercise, and disease.

Education

Graduate School
Doctor of Philosophy in Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Perugia 2008

Postdoc
University of Alabama at Birmingham 2009-2015

Contact

Office

Email
cdieni@uabmc.edu

Phone
205.934.0322