Francesca Spiga, PhD

I am Research Fellow at the University of Bristol. My current research interests include: 1)the dynamics of glucocorticoid hormone synthesis in the adrenal cortex underbasal and stress conditions; 2) the mechanisms leading to changes in these dynamics in pathological states including chronic stress, inflammation, chrono-disruption, restricted feeding and fasting; 3) the role of glucocorticoid receptor signaling, with particular interest in the role of the chaperone protein FKBP51, in regulating the ultradian rhythm of glucocorticoidhormones. To test my hypothesis I use a multidisciplinary approach including experimental in vivo and in vitro work, and, in collaboration with colleagues mathematicians, mathematical modeling.