Francesca Gilli, PhD
Francesca Gilli is an Associate Professor of Neurology and of Microbiology & Immunology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She is also a Co-Director of the Graduate Program in Integrative Neuroscience at Dartmouth. Born and raised in Italy, Francesca earned an M.S. in Medical Biotechnology and a Ph.D. in Human Biology (with a focus on Neurobiology / Neuroimmunology) from the Università Degli Studi di Torino (Italy). She then completed her postdoctoral research in neuroimmunology at Università Degli Studi di Torino (Italy), and Dartmouth College (USA). Her predoctoral research focused on the immunogenicity and biological action of IFNβ therapy in patients with Multiple Sclerosis while her postdoctoral research focused on the molecular mechanisms behind the adaptive immune response in pregnancy in MS. She also completed a Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Fellowship at the Università Degli Studi di Torino (Italy) in 2011. In 2014, Francesca joined the faculty in the Neurology Department of the Geisel School of Medicine, where she works as a basic scientist affiliated with the MS Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and the White River Junction VA Medical Center. When not at work, Francesca is usually found skiing, scuba diving, or enjoying leisure time with her friends and family
Steven Pike, BS
Steve Pike is currently a fifth-year Ph.D. IND student co-mentored by Dr. Francesca Gilli and Dr. Lucas Salas. In May 2020 he graduated from SUNY University at Buffalo with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. During that time, he had the fantastic opportunity to be exposed to biomedical research in Dr. Jennifer Surtees’s lab where he studied MSH3 protein biochemistry in different DNA repair pathways. From this experience, he discovered a passion for research and specific interests in neuroscience and immunology. His current work centers around characterizing the cellular inflammatory responses that are unique to clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) patients who eventually convert to relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The purpose of understanding the biological basis of this phenomenon is crucial in predicting which patient populations will eventually succumb to the disease and initiating treatment as early as possible. To study this, he uses computational, high-throughput, multi-ohmic approaches that rely on technologies such as single-cell RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, DNA methylation profiling, and multiplexed immunosorbent assays. With these experiments, we gain information about immune cell populations on an epigenetic, transcriptional, and proteomic level to infer cellular responses present at the early stages of multiple sclerosis. Outside of his time in the lab, Steve enjoys skiing, cooking, and hanging out with his friends while exploring the Upper Valley.
Nour-Maria Bouzid
Maria Bouzid is currently an undergraduate senior at Dartmouth College, majoring in human biology with a minor in French. She chose Dr. Gilli’s lab out of curiosity about how neurological diseases, particularly multiple sclerosis, develop and a desire to contribute to the general understanding of MS pathology. During her time in the lab, she has worked closely with other members of the team to model MS in mice and analyze the physiological changes that arise. Currently, she is completing her honors thesis on comparing complement system and B-cell activity in two pathologically distinct models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The purpose of this work is to address a critical gap in understanding the mechanisms driving disease progression in MS, particularly the role of B cells in inflammatory demyelinating diseases. Outside of the lab, Maria enjoys roller skating, reading, cooking, and teaching others about the French language and francophone cultures through her work with the Dartmouth French Department.