Research Team
Rocco Latorre, PhD
Research Scientist
Dept. of Molecular Pathobiology
Dr. Latorre completed his M.Sc. in Biological Science and his Ph.D. in Veterinary Morphophysiopathology with Biotechnological Application at University of Bologna (Italy). Following his Ph.D., Dr. Latorre worked in Bologna at Unibo, UCLA and in Oklahoma City at OCNS. In August 2017, Rocco joined Dr. Bunnett’s lab at Columbia University and in October 2019, Rocco moved to NYU continuing his scientific research in Dr. Bunnett’s lab. Dr. Latorre’s research interests include the study of G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) in mechanisms of pain and inflammation, with special interest on visceral hypersensitivity and neuropathic pain. His work focuses specifically on using in-vivo neurobehavioral approaches to identify and characterize new compounds targeting GPCRs intracellular trafficking, which contribute to chronic pain and inflammation.
Dr. Latorre’s awards include:
- Federation of Neurogastroenterology and Motility in 2014
- America Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society in 2017
- Seed Grant from Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience in 2016
Raquel Tonello, PhD
Associate Research Scientist
Dr. Raquel Tonello has a B.Sc. in Pharmacy and obtained her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Science with emphasis in pharmacology and pain research at Federal University of Santa Maria (Brazil). After completing her Ph.D., Raquel worked at Federal University of Santa Catarina and University of Cincinnati, with focuses on understanding the neuroimmune interactions in acute and chronic pain. During her academic career, she has developed a strong background in the study of pain, and expertise in behavioral and molecular neuroscience. The long-term goal of her research is to provide new insights into the biochemical and molecular mechanism involved in the onset and progression of chronic pain, leading to novel targets for the clinical management of these diseases.
Renato Bruni, PhD
Research Scientist
Renato Bruni has a Ph.D. from the University of Basel, Switzerland. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago, he worked for several small biotech companies in NYC. Most recently he was a Staff Scientist at the New York Structural Biology Center where he ran for the eukaryotic expression platform for the production of membrane proteins.
Elisa Damo, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Elisa earned her MSc in Neurobiology from the University of Turin and her PhD in Biology from Heidelberg University. Her previous research focused on unraveling the analgesic potential of the β2-adrenergic receptor modulation in glial cells in a murine model of neuropathic pain. Her expertise spans from molecular to behavioral assays. Currently, her focus lies in studying the involvement of RTKs in both acute and chronic pain.
Badr Sokrat, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Badr completed his PhD in biochemistry at the University of Montreal under the supervision of Dr. Michel Bouvier. His doctoral work focused on exploring the non-canonical functions of β-arrestin in G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. Currently, he is interested in investigating the role of GPCRs in the context of inflammation and chronic pain.
Maria Fernanda Pessano Fialho, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Maria Fernanda earned her MSc and PhD in Biochemistry from the Federal University of Santa Maria - Pain Research Group (Brazil). During her trajectory, she developed several projects to study pain pathophysiological mechanisms. These are related to pain pharmacology, TRPs, GPCRs (kinin receptors and PAR2), and intracellular pathways in preclinical models.
Naomi Barrett
Bath Student Intern/Visiting Scholar
Naomi is an undergraduate student studying Biomedical Sciences in the UK, at the University of Bath. She will be joining Dr. Bunnett’s Lab for 12 months, investigating the mechanisms of endosomal receptor signaling. Her interests outside of her studies include baking and playing team sports, such as water polo.