Gaetano Vattemi has been involved in the field of muscle disorders ever since his graduation at the Medical School. At first he attended the Laboratory of Neuropathology directed by Prof. Nicolò Rizzuto where, together with Dr. Tomelleri, he was focusing on the pathogenesis of idiopathic and HIV-related inflammatory myopathies and particularly, on the pro- and anti-apoptotic signaling pathways that act on T cells. In those years, he has also evaluated the expression of antioxidant agents (manganese superoxide dismutase, copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione) and of transcription factors (nuclear factor-kappa B and activator protein-1 transcription factor) in mitochondrial diseases.
From February 2001 to January 2003, while doing his PhD program, he was a Research Fellow at the USC Neuromuscular Center of the University of Southern California under the direction of Prof. Valerie Askanas and Prof. W. King Engel. During this period he was involved in scientific projects related to the pathogenesis of sporadic inclusion-body myositis (s-IBM).Through these studies he gained an experience in several techniques, including iimmunohistochemistry, immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation, and primary human muscle tissue cultures.
After returning to Italy, he spent three months in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the University of Siena directed by Prof. Pallini and Dr. Bini, where he learned 2D (two-dimensional) gel electrophoresis, and started a fruitful collaboration of proteomic analysis of muscle tissue.
