Alessio Alfieri

Personal profile

Alessio Alfieri received his Pharmacy degree and his PhD in Drug Science from the University of Naples “Federico II”. After working at the Department of Cardiovascular Science of the University of Sheffield, he joined the Cardiovascular Division and British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence at King’s College London. In 2014 Alessio Alfieri joined the University of Edinburgh, working at the Roslin Institute in Dr Barry McColl’s laboratory and investigating mechanisms of injury and repair in ischaemic stroke.  He joined in 2017 Prof Karen Horsburgh’s research group to investigate mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction and neuroinflammation in vascular cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

Alessio Alfieri is an active member of the British Pharmacological Society and is an External Reviewer for several international Journals including Circulation, Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, Cell Mol Neurobiol, Antioxid Redox Signal, Free Radic Biol Med, Br J Pharmacol.

Research

Chronic cerebrovascular pathology is a leading cause of dementia and an important modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. However, the cellular and molecular processes underpinning this pathology are poorly understood.

Our research investigates the mechanisms underlying cognitive decline in Cerebral Vascular Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease, with the aim to identify novel therapeutic targets against dementia. Our current work is focussed on redox signalling in endothelial cell activation and microvascular inflammation in experimental models of CVD.

Our current research project is funded by the Alzheimer’s Society and involves collaborators at King’s College London, Edinburgh University (Centre for Vascular Science) and overseas.

Relevant publications

• Percie du Sert N, Alfieri A, Allan S, Carswell H, Deuchar G, Farr T, Flecknell P, Gallagher L, Gibson C, Haley M, Macleod M, McColl B, McCabe C, Morancho A, Moon L, O’Neill M, Pérez-De Puig I, Planas A, Ragan I, Rosell A, Roy L, Ryder K, Simats A, Sena E, Sutherland B, Tricklebank M, Trueman R, Whitfield L, Wong R, Macrae IM. The IMPROVE Guidelines (Ischaemia Models: Procedural Refinements Of in Vivo Experiments). J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2017; 37:3488-3517.
• Alfieri A, Srivastava S, Siow RC, Cash D, Modo M, Duchen MR, Fraser PA, Williams SC, Mann GE. Sulforaphane preconditioning of the Nrf2/HO-1 defense pathway protects the cerebral vasculature against blood-brain barrier disruption and neurological deficits in stroke. Free Radic Biol Med. 2013; 65:1012-1022.
• Alfieri A, Ong ACM, Kammerer RA, Solanky T, Bate S, Tasab M, Brown NJ, Brookes ZL. Angiopoietin-1 regulates microvascular reactivity and protects the microcirculation during acute endothelial dysfunction: role of eNOS and VE-cadherin. Pharmacol Res. 2014; 80: 43-51.
• Alfieri A, Watson JJ, Kammerer RA, Tasab M, Progias P, Reeves K, Brown NJ, Brookes ZL. Angiopoietin-1 variant reduces LPS-induced microvascular dysfunction in a murine model of sepsis. Crit Care. 2012; 16:R182.
• Alfieri A, Srivastava S, Siow RC, Modo M, Fraser PA, Mann GE. Targeting the Nrf2-Keap1 antioxidant defence pathway for neurovascular protection in stroke. J Physiol. 2011; 589:4125-4136.

Related links

Edinburgh University's Centre for Vascular Science

Alzheimer’s Society