Dr. Valentina Naef graduated in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Pisa. She subsequently obtained her Ph.D. in Biology, during which she gained experience in generating knockout animal models to study the mechanisms underlying brain aging and neurodegeneration. She currently carries out her research activities at the Molecular Medicine and Neurobiology laboratory of the IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, where she studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying rare and still incurable neurological diseases, such as autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay, in order to test and identify new therapeutic molecules.