Education
- 2013 – 2016: PhD, University of Naples Federico II, Naples (IT)
- 2013: Summer Research Student, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Frankfurt (DE)
- 2012: Master’s degree in Med. Biotechnology, University of Naples, Federico II (Italy)
- 2011: International exchange program, Imperial College London; London (UK)
- 2010: Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology, University of Naples, Federico II (Italy)
Academic Appointments
- 2024 – present: Assistant Professor, Humanitas University, Milan (IT)
- 2019 – 2023: Research instructor, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (US)
- 2016 – 2019: Postdoc Research Associate, Pharmacogenomics/IM Department, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, (USA)
Membership and Affiliations
- 2019 – present: Technical consultant Mitochondria in Motion, St. Louis, MO (USA)
Awards and Honors
- 2017: Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, MO-USA) McDonnell Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology Postdoctoral
- 2016: Postdoctoral Fellowship Societa Italiana Ipertensione Arteriosa (SIIA) “Cesare Bartorelli”
- 2014: Travel-Grant FCVB (Frontiers in Cardiovascular Biology), ESC Congress, 4-6 July 2014 Barcelona, Spain
- 2014: Travel-Grant S.I.I.A., Societa’ Italiana di Ipertensione Arteriosa (S.I.I.A.), 9-10 October 2014 Bologna, Italy
- 2014: Best Poster “Heart Session”, Societa’ Italiana Ipertensione Arteriosa (SIIA). Title: “Ionizing radiation modifies in time dependent manner the subcellular localization of GRK2 in cardiomyocytes”
- 2011: International exchange program with universities and research institutes for foreigners to short-term mobility of teachers, Scholars and Researchers
Other
- 2018: Finalist O’Leary Competition Excellence in Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
The principal aim of Dr. Franco’s research for the near future is to understand the molecular mitochondria mechanism and clinical relevance in mitochondrial fusion defects linked to cardiac abnormalities and neurodegenerative diseases. Eight years ago, when she first committed to mitochondrial research, she started by studying hereditary mitochondrial fusion dysfunctions in the neurodegenerative disease Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2A (CMT2A). Moving forward, she plans to continue to focus on hereditary mitochondrial fusion defects in cardiac abnormalities The long-term goal of this project will be finding ways to therapeutically approach treating mitochondrial fusion defects in heart failure and neurological diseases. This research will have high relevance since she will analyze the human variants that induce hereditary disease.
- Franco A, Kitsis RN, Fleischer JA, Gavathiotis E, Kornfeld OS, Gong G, Biris N, Benz A, Qvit N, Donnelly SK, Chen Y, Mennerick S, Hodgson L, Mochly-Rosen D, Dorn GW II. Correcting mitochondrial fusion by manipulating mitofusin conformations. Nature. 2016 Dec 1;540 (7631):74-79. doi: 10.1038/nature20156. Epub 2016 Oct 24. PMID: 27775718
- Song M, Franco A, Fleischer JA, Zhang L, Dorn GW 2nd. Abrogating Mitochondrial Dynamics in Mouse Hearts Accelerates Mitochondrial Senescence. Cell Metab. 2017 Dec 5;26(6):872-883.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2017.09.023. Epub 2017 Oct 26.PMID:29107503
- Rocha AG(*), Franco A(*), Krezel AM, Rumsey JM, Alberti JM, Knight WC, Biris N, Zacharioudakis E, Janetka JW, Baloh RH, Kitsis RN, Mochly-Rosen D, Townsend RR, Gavathiotis E, Dorn GW2nd. MFN2 agonists reverse mitochondrial defects in preclinical models of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A.Science. 2018 Apr 20;360(6386):336- 341doi:10.1126/science.aao1785. PMID:29674596
- Franco A., Dang X., Walton E., Ho J., Zablocka B., Ly C., Miller T., Baloh R., Shy M., Yoo A., Dorn II GW. Burst mitofusin activation reverses neuromuscular dysfunction in murine CMT2A Elife. 2020 Oct 19;9:e61119. doi: 10.7554/eLife.61119. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33074106
- Franco A., Li J., Kelly D., Hershberger R., Marian A., Lewis R., Song M., Dang X., D. Schmidt A., Mathyer M. , Edwards R.J. de Guzman Strong C., Dorn II G. A human mitofusin 2 mutation cam cause mitophagic cardiomyopathy. (ElifeNov 1, 2023 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.84235)