Laura Cancedda graduated in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Genoa in 1999, with a thesis on the role of neurotrophic factors on neurotransmitter release. She received her Ph.D. in neurophysiology from Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa, Italy) in 2003, under the supervision of Dr. Lamberto Maffei. In Pisa, she investigated the molecular and environmental basis of experience-dependent plasticity in the rat brain. In 2003, she moved to University of California at Berkeley in Dr. Poo’s laboratory where she focused her studies on molecular mechanisms of GABAergic-transmission modulation.
Currently, she holds a principal investigator position at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa. Laura is a EMBO member, an alumna of the FENS KAVLI network of excellence and a former Dulbecco Telethon Institute researcher. Her laboratory investigates mechanisms of brain development in health and disease, with a strong translational focus on neurodevelopmental disorders.
Laura comes from a neurophysiological and neuropharmacological background. The techniques applied in her laboratory include, among others, in vitro electrophysiology on brain slices and cell cultures, in vivo transfection of nucleic acids (in utero electroporation), in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, immunohistochemistry, confocal imaging and multiomics, rodent behavioral testing.
Honors and Awards
2026-2030 Member of the EMBO Global Investigator Network selection committee.
2026 Winner of the INNLIFES prize – Protagonists of innovation in neurology.
2025 Elected European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) member
Awarded the FIS 2 Advanced grant (modelled on the ERC advanced grant, 2M Euros).
Program Committee officer member for the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS 2026).
Female entrepreneurship award “Best scale up award”to IAMA therapeutics “La carica delle 101”, Milan, Italy.
2024-2027 Selected as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) for the Scientific and Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) of the Coordination and Support Action (CSA) BrainHealth for the planned European Partnership for Brain Health (EBPH), a new funding line of the European commission.
Alessandro Moretta prize, Research Ambassadors, Genoa Italy
Innovation prize by the Foreign Press Association (to Iama Therapeutics)
2023 Seal of Excellence certificate for ERC PoC 2023 DL2
2022 Finalist as Funder of IAMA therapeutics of the Finalist for Falling Walls Venture 2022.
2022 Founder and scientific advisor for IAMA therapeutics.
Scientific responsible and member of the steering committee for Clinical trial EudraCT 2015-005780-16 at the Bambino Gesù Hospital based on my research.
2019 Program Committee officer member for the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) (proposed by Italian Society for Neuroscience).
Proposed for the IBRO-Kemali Prize 2019
2018 National habilitation as full professor of Pharmacology
National habilitation as full professor of Physiology
2017- Scientific advisory board member of the Fondazione Pisana per la Scienza
2017 Selected among the best 100 young Italian scientists operating in Italy or abroad (Cartaditalia magazine)
2016 Awarded the European Research Council (ERC) consolidator grant.
The project was featured in the press release (7 projects featured out of 314 funded) for announcing the results of 2016 ERC CoG by the communication unit of the ERC.
Appointed scholar of the FENS-KAVLI network of excellence. https://fenskavlinetwork.org/
Young researcher award, memorial Mario Mai.
2015 Appointed assistant scientist at the Dulbecco Telethon Institute, Italy
2014 National habilitation as assistant professor of Physiology.
TRADECOM society adopted Telethon Project on Rett syndrome for communication to the lay public.
2013 Mention of honor, poster award, Convention Telethon, Italy.
Finalist at the scientific picture award “Beyond science”, Genova, Italy.
2011 Best poster award, Molecular Mechanisms in Neuroscience meeting, Rome, Italy.
2009 Young investigator award, Italian Society of Physiology (SIF), Italy.
2008 Best speaker award, Italian Society for Neuroscience (SINS), Milan, Italy.
2003 Ph.D. earned with Honors, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy.
2001 Travel award for participation to summer course “Structure, Function and Development of the Visual System”, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), U.S.A.
1999 Graduation with Honors and Distinction in Major, University of Genoa, Italy.
1997 Scholarship for extracurricular departmental activities, University of Genoa, Italy.