Esi Domi

My scientific activity focuses on the study of drugs of abuse, especially on alcohol use disorders. The aim of my current research is to identify neural circuits and molecular level mechanisms of compulsive alcohol taking, a key feature in the diagnosis of Alcohol Use Disorders. A solid training in behavioral pharmacology, achieved during my PhD in the laboratory of Professor Roberto Ciccocioppo (University of Camerino, Italy) allowed me to establish several collaborations with important biopharmaceutical companies such as OMEROS and CERECOR INC and. The objective of these collaborations was identifying and validating new therapeutical targets to treat alcohol use disorders. I explored the role opioid receptor  in excessive drinking induced by stress and nicotine, promoting antagonists such as CERC-501 in phase 2 of clinical trials for treatment of alcohol use disorders. Moreover, I explored the role of the nuclear receptor PPARin alcohol use and anxiety disorders elicited by stress or nicotine withdrawal. During my Postdoc, I established a new line of research in the laboratory of Professor Markus Heilig (University of Linköping, Sweden) focusing on the role of individual differences in the vulnerability to develop alcohol addiction. I experienced interdisciplinary approaches applying cutting edge molecular techniques (viral-TRAP approach, DREADDs, NanoString technology, RNAscope) making a step forward in the discovery of molecules that might represent key targets for treating alcohol addiction. Recent findings of my research showing that PKC-δ-positive GABA-ergic neurons in the central amygdala were strongly activated in conjunction with compulsive drinking prompted us to create in collaboration with genOway the first transgenic rat model PKC-δ Cre knock-in. This transgenic line will be strategically used to investigate the role of PKC-δ circuitry in alcohol use disorders. Moreover, Prkcd-Cre Knock-in rats represent a valid genetic tool to investigate the properties and the function of PKCδ+ neurons as well as cell-type specific manipulations of PKCδ+ neuronal circuitry in a range of behavioral models in rats. Findings from my research activity have resulted in 11 first and 16 co-authored publications in highly prestigious journals including Science, Science Advances, Biological Psychiatry, Journal Neuroscience, etc. As a young scientist I had the opportunity to obtain research fundings from LIONS’ postdoc grant from the Center for Systems Neurobiology, Linköping University on the study of the brain networks and molecular mechanisms that drive compulsive-like behavior in alcohol use disorders. Recently, I obtained a research position at the department of Pharmacology and Experimental Medicine that will allow me to further explore the role of individual variability and sex differences in developing excessive alcohol use with the aim to increase the predictive power for a translational research and advance the discovery of novel effective pharmacotherapies in alcohol use disorders.