Professor Micaela Morelli is a professor of pharmacology. She joined the Center of Excellence on Neurobiology of Dependence in 2001. She became the Italian representative for the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) in 2005 and was appointed the councilor of IBRO Western Europe Regional Committee in 2010.

She has dedicated her research interests to the study of drugs active in the central nervous system and particularly to drugs for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

These studies have evidenced that blockade of adenosine A2A receptors play a positive role in the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Behavioral studies on this topic have been correlated to specific modifications in zif-268, A2A receptors, dynorphin, enkephalin and GAD67 mRNA in the striatum. Moreover the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of A2A receptor antagonists have been evidenced in MPTP-treated pre-clinical models. These studies have resulted in clinical trials on A2A receptor antagonists in Parkinson’s patients.