Pietro Cortelli is Full Professor of Neurology at Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna. He
retired on 1 November 2024, having previously served as Director of the School of Medicine,
Director of the PhD Programme in Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, and Director of the
Residency Programme in Neurology at the University of Bologna, as well as Scientific Director and
subsequently Chief Operating Director of the IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna.
His research has focused on disorders of the autonomic nervous system, particularly in relation to
neurodegenerative diseases, with a specific focus on Parkinson’s disease, Pure Autonomic Failure,
Multiple System Atrophy, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, and genetic diseases associated with
autonomic failure, including Adult-Onset Autosomal Dominant Leukodystrophy (ADLD).
He also contributed to the discovery of a new genetic disease, Familial Fatal Insomnia, and
collaborated on research that led to the identification of new genetic alterations associated with
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, prion encephalopathies, and familial
hemiplegic migraine.