Dr. Marino is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the Neurology Department and Sealy Institute for Drug Discovery. She has a background in Pharmacy and in Neuroscience. Her research focuses on underlying biophysical, biomolecular, and physiological mechanisms for either preventing or halting neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and translating these findings into novel disease-modifying therapies. During her postdoctoral studies, dr. Marino contributed to the discovery of the effect of the homozygous mutation in the APOE gene, known as the APOE3 Christchurch mutation, in delaying the onset by up to three decades in an individual carrying a very aggressive form of Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer's Disease. The subsequent characterization of novel antibodies capable of mimicking the mechanism of action of this mutation, allowed her to propose ApoE interactions as attractive targets for effective disease-modifying therapies for AD. In parallel work, Dr. Marino's research contributed to the characterization of a second protective genetic variant against familial Alzheimer's disease, the RELN-COLBOS variant, which will contribute to a better understanding of biomolecular mechanisms of resilience against AD and to the design of novel therapeutic interventions that mimic such resilience.

Claudia Marino, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)