Editorial & Review Team

Biography

Dr. Cristina Cosi is a biologist, pharmacologist and biochemist with a Master of Science from the University of Florence and a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology from the University of Toulouse. She spent 27 years at Institut de Recherche Pierre Fabre in France, where her work focused on understanding neurodegenerative processes and mechanisms of neuronal plasticity to identify potential treatments for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases and pain. She conducted pioneering research establishing the neuroprotective activity of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, and contributed to the discovery and development of neurotrophin receptor TRKA/B inhibitors as potential analgesics, and D3 antagonists/5-HT1A agonists as potential antipsychotics. Among her areas of expertise are neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, hormones, the HPA axis, the gut-brain axis, GPCRs, signal transduction, neuroanatomy, and animal models for Parkinson's disease. She has held research positions at the Universities of Florence and Verona, and served as a Fogarty Fellow at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the NIH in the United States. She is an experienced scientific writer with 46 peer-reviewed research articles published in journals including Brain Research, European Journal of Pharmacology and Science, and 60 congress abstracts. She serves as a reviewer for scientific journals including MethodsX and Academia Biology, and as a grant evaluator for the European Commission Horizon MSCA programme every year from 2021 to 2025. Since 2020 she works as an independent consultant in pharmacology and neuroscience, offering services in drug discovery, feasibility studies, literature reviews and scientific writing. Dr. Cosi serves as Scientific Contributor and Reviewer for the Peptides.net research content programme, independently reviewing product descriptions for scientific accuracy and inserting verified PubMed citations into the research context of each description.

Selected Publications

1. Cosi C, Auclair A, Ravailhe V, Malfetes N, N'Guyen V. Effects of nicotine on catecholaminergic neurotransmission in a premotor stage model of Parkinson's disease. Academia Biology. 2025;3. DOI: 10.20935/AcadBiol7522
2. Cosi C, Millar M, Beltran M, Sherry L, Gatti-McArthur S. Quantitative analysis of RNAscope staining for c-fos expression in mouse brain tissue as a measure of neuronal activation. MethodsX. 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2021.101348
3. Cosi C, Martel JC, Heusler P, Auclair A, Collo G, Cavalleri L, Leriche L, Marien M, Moser P, Sokoloff P, Gaudoux F, Gatti-McArthur S. Preclinical pharmacology profile of F17464, a dopamine D3 receptor preferential antagonist. Eur J Pharmacol. 2021;850:173635. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2019.173635
4. Cosi C, Mannaioni G, Cozzi A, Carla V, Sili M, Maratea D, Moroni F. G-protein coupled receptor 35 (GPR35) activation and inflammatory pain: studies on the antinociceptive effects of kynurenic acid and zaprinast. Neuropharmacology. 2011;60(7-8):1227-1231. View on PubMed →
5. Cosi C, Carilla-Durand E, Assie MB, Ormiere AM, Maraval M, Leduc N, Newman-Tancredi A. Partial agonism of the antipsychotics SSR181507, aripiprazole and bifeprunox at dopamine D2 receptors: G-protein activation and prolactin release. Eur J Pharmacol. 2006;535:135-144. View on PubMed →
6. Newman-Tancredi A, Assie MB, Leduc N, Ormiere O, Danty N, Cosi C. Novel antipsychotics activate recombinant human and native rat serotonin 5-HT1A receptors: affinity, efficacy and potential implications for treatment of schizophrenia. Int J Neuropsychopharmacology. 2005;8:1-16. View on PubMed →
7. Cosi C, Waget A, Rollet K, Tesori V, Newman-Tancredi A. Clozapine, ziprasidone and aripiprazole but not haloperidol protect against kainic acid-induced lesion of the striatum in mice, in vivo: role of 5-HT1A receptor activation. Brain Res. 2005;1043:32-41. View on PubMed →
8. Cosi C. New poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors and their potential therapeutic targets. Review. Expert Opin Ther Patents. 2002;12(7):1047-1071. View on PubMed →
9. Cosi C, Suzuki H, Facci L, Milani D, Vantini G, Kanai Y, Skaper SD. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase: early involvement in glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in cultured cerebellar granule cells. J Neurosci Res. 1994;39(1):38-46. View on PubMed →
10. Cosi C, Spoerri P, Comelli C, Guidolin D, Skaper S. Glucocorticoids depress activity-dependent expression of BDNF mRNA in hippocampal neurons. NeuroReport. 1993;4:527-530. View on PubMed →
11. Shinoda H, Marini AM, Cosi C, Schwartz JP. Brain region and gene specificity of neuropeptide gene expression in cultured astrocytes. Science. 1989;245:415-417. View on PubMed →