Roberta Marongiu, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. She received her PhD in medical genetics and neuroscience from the Sapienza University of Rome and the University of California, San Diego. She then completed her postdoctoral studies in neuroscience with focus on viral-vector-mediated gene therapies for Parkinson’s disease (PD) at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Her research contributions to Parkinson’s disease include the identification of the first PINK1 pathogenic mutations; evidence of a direct link between mitochondria, autophagy, and the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s; and the identification of the p11 gene as first potential target for treating both PD motor symptoms and dyskinesia. 

As a young investigator using novel genetic, viral, and animal model approaches, her current research focuses on the identification of the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of sex and menopause on brain disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.