Endocrine Abstracts

Volume 10

Society for Endocrinology European Medal Lecture

A Maggi, Center of Excellence on Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Milan, Via Balzaretti 9, Milan, Italy Abstract

Professor Adriana Maggi’s career has been devoted to the study of the activities of estrogens, initially in the central nervous system and, more recently, in other non-reproductive organs with the aim to understand the physiological importance of this hormone beyond the control of reproductive functions. She was first to propose and prove that estrogens were active in brain regions relevant for affection, learning and memory, providing the foundations for the understanding of the role of these hormones in disorders such as premenstrual tension (PMT), post-partum and post-menopause depression and proving their involvement in the control of selective learning abilities.

Her work has always been characterized by the use of sophisticated biological technologies. She has been one of the first to attempt the use of subtractive libraries and antisense oligonucleotides in the study of brain functions, to generate neural cells stably transfected with estrogen receptors and others; however, the most spectacular technological approach she has ever conceived is the generation of a transgenic mouse as a reporter of estrogenic compounds.

Professor Maggi has authored more than 100 publications in peered reviewed journals, is the editor of several books and author of texts related to the application of biotechnologies in the field of pharmacology.