• Stefano Sandrone

I am a neuroscientist and a Senior Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London. I am a Principal Investigator within the Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory (C3NL) and I have a proven track record in:

  • Neuroscience and neurology education

  • Neuroimaging

  • History of neuroscience and neurology

I was born in Canelli, Italy, in 1988 and I have been studying and doing research in Milan, Zurich and London.

In 2014 I was selected as a young scientist at the 64th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Physiology and Medicine (attended by 37 Nobel Laureates and 600 young scientists worldwide). For this, I have been included in Wired magazine’s list of ‘promising Italians under 35’.

In 2015 I co-authored a book entitled Brain Renaissance. It received a one-page review in Nature on its release and won the biennial Award for Outstanding Book in the History of the Neurosciences presented by the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences. In the same year, I have also written an online commentary for the Neuroanatomy chapter of the 41st edition of the Gray’s Anatomy, thus becoming one of the youngest contributors ever (bona fide the youngest one).

In 2016 I was awarded the H. Richard Tyler Award for the History of Neurology presented by the American Academy of Neurology and its Archive Committee. Moreover, I was selected as member of the Young European Leadership Delegation at the European Parliament for the European Youth Event and recognised as Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, the British professional institution promoting excellence in higher education.

In 2017 I have been elected as Vice Chair of the History of Neurology Section at the American Academy of Neurology for the 2017-2019 term and recognised as Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Since 2018 I am of the eleven experts under 40 within the Health Research Section and the Section for the evaluation of health research projects presented by researchers under 40 at the Comitato Tecnico Sanitario, Italian Minister of Health.

In 2019 I was awarded the Lawrence C. McHenry Award from the American Academy of Neurology and I became the youngest Chair within the same Academy for the 2019-2021 term. Furthermore, I was awarded the Imperial College London Julia Higgins Award for my ‘significant contribution to the support of academic women at the College’.

In 2020 I won the President’s Award for Excellence in Education from Imperial College London and the A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award from the American Academy of Neurology. I was also recognised as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

In 2021 I joined the European Health Parliament as a member of the Young European Leadership Delegation and I authored the book entitled Nobel Life.

  • Email: sandrone.stefano [at] gmail.com
  • Skype : stefanosandrone

timeline

Senior Teaching Fellow - Imperial College London

Faculty of Medicine
Imperial College London, 
London, United Kingdom

January 2020 - Present

Teaching Fellow - Imperial College London

Faculty of Medicine,
Imperial College London,
London, United Kingdom

January 2018 - December 2019

PhD student, Post-doctoral Research Associate and Teaching Fellow - IoPPN

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience,
King’s College London,
London, United Kingdom

October 2013 - December 2017

Research Position - Institute of Neuroinformatics

University of Zurich and ETH Zurich,
Zurich, Switzerland

March 2013 - June 2013

Pre-PhD training
August 2012 - February 2013 - Institute of Experimental Neurology

San Raffaele Scientific Institute,
Milan, Italy

2008-2013

Master of Science - summa cum laude and special academic mention – Psychology-Neuroscience

Vita-Salute San Raffaele University,
Milan, Italy

2010 - 2012

Bachelor of Science summa cum laude - Psychological Sciences

Vita-Salute San Raffaele University,
Milan, Italy

2007-2010

Scientific High School – summa cum laude

Liceo Scientifico Galileo Galilei,
Nizza Monferrato (AT), Italy

2002-2007

Research

Neuroscience and neurology education, neuroimaging and history are my areas of expertise

In Milan, I assessed the cortical neuroplasticity induced by acute transcranial stimulation and by delayed neural stem cell transplantation in an experimental model of ischemic stroke. I studied the predictive potential of resting-state in neurological diseases and rediscovered the manuscripts of the first 'functional neuroimaging' experiment (performed more than 130 years ago).

In Zurich, I contributed to elucidate the effects of stimulation on spontaneous neural activity in songbirds and carried on studying the lives of some of the most outstanding neuroscientists ever.

In London, I explored the neuroanatomy of the white matter in autism, I co-authored Brain Renaissance, I wrote Nobel Life and a brief history of the brain lymphatic system. I am working on several neuroimaging projects on computational, cognitive and clinical aspects. I am studying how to transform neuroscience and neurology education by:

-integrating flipped classroom and active learning for online and in-person delivery

-exploiting augmented and virtual reality tools

-defining new mentoring schemes to mentor the future generations

-inserting gamification and game-based approaches in the curriculum

-implementing strategies to fight ‘neurophobia’

-exploring ‘threshold concepts’ in neuroscience

-studying the concept of ‘identity’ in neuroscience

Publications

MEDIA COVERAGE & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Here you can find a selection of newspapers, magazines, radios and TVs featuring my work.

I am actively involved in public engagement with neuroscience, and I have been collaborating with BergamoScienza, one of the biggest science festivals in Italy, since 2007. In the top image, I am pictured with Nobel Laureate James Watson and Professor Edoardo Boncinelli in Bergamo. Furthermore, I am the youngest among the the Frontiers for Young Minds scientists: here you can find the article I wrote for kids!

Contacts

Email: sandrone.stefano [at] gmail.com

Skype : stefanosandrone

Website : www.stefanosandrone.com

Academia