Paolo Brambilla

Dr. Paolo Brambilla graduated from the University of Milan School of Medicine, Italy, specialized in Psychiatry at the University of Pavia and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan. He had been a postdoctoral clinical research fellow first at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and afterwards at the at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas at San Antonio. During his experience in the US Dr. Brambilla conducted MR studies combined to neuropsychology investigations applied to the field of mood disorders in order to identify neuroanatomical and neurochemical neurodevelopmental underpinnings. In 2005 he completed his Ph.D. program by defending a thesis on the effects of lithium in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of bipolar disorder patients and healthy controls using MRS. Between 2002 and 2004 he had been scientific consultant at the Biological Psychiatry Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS “San Giovanni di Dio”, Fatebenefratelli Hospital and Institute, Brescia, Italy. Since January 2004 Dr. Brambilla is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Section of Psychiatry, University of Udine, Italy, where he coordinates the Research Unit on Brain Imaging and Neuropsychology Program at the Inter-University Center for Behavioural Neurosciences, a unique collaborative research program between the University of Udine and the University of Verona, Italy, dedicated to the study of the pathophysiology and neuroplasticity of psychotic and mood disorders. Since 2005 he is attending psychiatrist at the University Hospital of Udine and at the Center of Rehabilitation for children and adolescents of “La Nostra Famiglia” Association in Pasian di Prato, Udine. Since 2005 he is researcher of the Developmental Psychopathology Unit at the IRCCS “E. Medea” Scientific Institute. Between 2007- 2009 he has been Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Center of Excellence for Research and Treatment of Bipolar Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Dr. Brambilla is member of the Scientific Boards of the “Imago 7” Foundation for human research with magnetic resonance at very high field and of the Italian Training Institute of the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis (NAAP, USA). Currently, Dr. Brambilla is leading longitudinal MR and neuropsychological studies in major psychoses, mood disorders and developmental psychopathology. He has supervised several MD and PhD students, has extensive experience in University teaching and is member of the Editorial Board of some scientific Journals. Dr. Brambilla is a founding member of The Neuroimaging Network of the ECNP networks initiative. Finally, he is the recipient of several international scientific honours, of national2 and international grants, and is author or co-author of more than 100 original papers published in International peer-reviewed Journals (h-index lifetime on August 2010: 27).