Chiara La Morgia, MD, PhD

IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Neurology Unit, Bellaria Hospital

Doctor Chiara La Morgia received her MD degree at the University of Bologna in 2002 and completed her residency in Neurology in 2008 at the University of Bologna. She finished her PhD in Sleep Medicine in 2012 at the University of Bologna. Since 2012 she had a research contract at the University of Bologna. Since October 5th 2015 to October 2020 she has a contract as Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna. Since Nov 2020 she is a Neurologist and Neuro-ophthalmologist at the IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna.

The main focus of her research is on hereditary mitochondrial optic neuropathies and melanopsin retinal ganglion cells (mRGCs) in relation to circadian photoreception in neurodegenerative disorders and mitochondrial optic neuropathies. She has established a collaborative research project with the Doheny Eye Institute, UCLA (Prof. Alfredo A Sadun) and with Prof. Jens Hannibal (Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenaghen, Denmark), for the study of mRGCs in neurodegenerative disorders.

Doctor La Morgia is also part of the team at the neurophthalmology clinic, Bellaria Hospital, Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Neurology Unit, Bellaria Hospital. She is involved in multiple research projects on mitochondrial optic neuropathies including international projects and is responsible for the clinical management of patients with hereditary optic neuropathies at the Bellaria Hospital.

Furthermore, she has been involved in different clinical trials on Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy. She has been the PI of a recently concluded research project funded by the Italian Ministry of Health titled “Melanopsin retinal ganglion cells and circadian rhythms: function and dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease and aging” and she is co-PI of two research projects funded by the Ministry of Health on “Italian Project on Hereditary Optic Neuropathies (IPHON): from genetic basis to therapy” and  “REtinal ganglion cells and ORganoids from Inherited Optic Neuropathies: light on pathogenesis to fight blindness (REORION Project)”

Doctor La Morgia is the author of 108 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 6 book chapters.