Dr. Poleggi has a Bachelor Degree in Science and a post graduate 4 years long Specialization in “Microbiology and Virology” from “Sapienza”, University of Rome. Poleggi devoted her research interest in the field of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies since 2000. She is a permanent position research scientist in the department of Neuroscience, Unit of “Clinical studies, Diagnosis and Therapy of Degenerative Diseases of the CNS”, of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome, where she is in charge of the molecular surveillance of the Italian Registry of CJD. Dr. Poleggi’s research focuses on several aspects of prion diseases (from genetic, clinical and epidemiological to studies on the pathogenesis of diseases). She is particularly interested in the identification of endogenous factors, different from prion protein, implicated in the great phenotypic variability observed in the familiar forms of CJD and usable as potential therapeutic targets.