Researcher
Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms Department

Stazione Zoologica Anton DohrnVilla Comunale
80121 Napoli - Italia

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Curriculum Vitae

Link google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KLz5EMEAAAAJ&hl=it&oi=ao
ORCID: 0000-0001-5526-4394

ERC sectors – LS3, LS5
Settori scientifico-disciplinari – BIO/9, BIO/13

Research Interests

Mitochondria are very dynamic organelles that can fuse and divide, move throughout the cell and undergo regulated turnover through mitophagy. They can readily adapt to changes in cellular requirements after physiological or environmental cues. When cells are subjected to mild stresses such as nutrient deprivation, mitochondria fuse and form a branched and interconnected network, as a means to increase ATP production and recover cellular homeostasis. Conversely, in the case of severe stress, mitochondria are fragmented to facilitate mitophagy. Defects in general autophagy, mitophagy and mitochondrial dynamics regulation have been associated with several pathological conditions, such as neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, age-associated diseases, and lysosomal storage diseases.

Exploiting my experience and knowledge in mitochondrial biology, I focus my interest on elucidating the resilience mechanisms specific of the nervous system in marine organisms, with a particular focus on mitochondrial homeostasis (dynamics, function, bioenergetics), autophagy, cell death and inflammatory responses. Molecular dissection of the pathways underlying these resilience strategies will allow us to identify evolutionarily tested solutions to overcome susceptibility to several environmental stressors. These studies will have a strong biomedical and translational impact, bringing to light the evolutionarily tested solutions to prevent or mitigate the damage associated with neural damage induced by genetic and/or environmental stress in humans.

Selected Publications

van Gelderen TA, D'Aniello E, Macina A, Gallo A, Carrella S, Mirra S±. Effect of hypoxia and reoxygenation on the nervous system of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, 16 February 2026, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8775360/v1

Toulis V, Marfany G, Mirra S. Marine Derived Strategies Against Neurodegeneration. Mar. Drugs. 31/07/2025

Izquierdo-Villalba I*, Mirra S*, Manso Y*, Parcerisas A, Rubio J, Del Valle J, Gil-Bea FJ, Ulloa F, Herrero-Lorenzo M, Verdaguer E, Benincá C, Castro-Torres RD, Rebollo E, Marfany G, Auladell C, Navarro X, Enríquez JA, López de Munain A, Soriano E, Aragay AM. A mammalian-specific Alex3/Gαq protein complex regulates mitochondrial trafficking, dendritic complexity, and neuronal survival. Sci Signal. 06/02/2024; *Equal contribution

Mirra S, Marfany G. From beach to the bedside: harnessing mitochondrial function in human diseases using new marine-derived strategies. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 01/2024.

García-Arroyo R, Domènech EB, Herrera-Úbeda C, Asensi MA, Núñez de Arenas C, Cuezva JM, Garcia-Fernàndez J, Pallardó FV, Mirra S±, Marfany G±. Exacerbated response to oxidative stress in the Retinitis Pigmentosa CerklKD/KO mouse model triggers retinal degeneration pathways upon acute light stress. (2023). Redox biology vol. 66 102862; ±Corresponding authors