DANIELE PIOMELLI
Professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology
School of Medicine
Louise Turner Arnold Chair in Neurosciences
Joint Appointment, Biological Chemistry
School of Medicine
Joint Appointment, Pharmacology
School of Medicine
Ph.D., Columbia University, New York, 1988, Pharmacology
Pharm.D., University of Naples, Italy, 1982
Phone: (949) 824-6180, 7080
Fax: (949) 824-6305, 4855
Email:
piomelli@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology
Gillespie NRF 3101, 3216
Mail Code: 1275
Irvine, CA 92697
Research
Interests cellular pharmacology, neuropharmacology
URLs Anatomy & Neurobiology Home Page
Pharmacology Home Page
Pharmacology Lab Page
See below for selected publications or click here for additional publication listings available via PubMed
Academic
Distinctions Jun 1988 National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and
Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award
Jun 1990 National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and
Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award
May 1999 National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and
Depression (NARSAD) Independent Investigator Award
May 2001 ad hoc member; NIH Centers Review Committee
May 2001 ad hoc member; NIH Program Projects Review Committee
Jun 2001 ad hoc member; NIAAA Board of Counselors
Jun 2001 Course Director; International School of Immunology,
“Ruggero Ceppellini”
Sep 2001 NIH Independent Investigator Award
May 2002 Grass Traveling Fellowship
Jul 2002 Chancellor Scholar; University of California, Irvine
Jul 2002 International Kemali Foundation Prize in Neurosciences
Oct 2003 Member of the NIDA Delegation to the Office of Drug Control
Policy (ONDCP)
May 2005 National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
(NARSAD) Distinguished Investigator Award
May 2007 Member of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse
Apr 2008 Chair, NIDA Scientific Director Review, Baltimore, MD
May 2009 National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
(NARSAD) Distinguished Investigator Award
Sep 2010 National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Avant-Garde Award for
Innovative Medication Development Research
Research
Abstract Dr. Piomelli was trained in neuroscience and pharmacology. Research in his lab is focused on the function of lipid-derived messengers, with particular emphasis on the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Current research efforts converge on three areas: formation and deactivation of anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol; physiological roles of the endogenous cannabinoid system; development of therapeutic agents that target anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol metabolism.
Primary neural cell cultures and state-of-the-art analytical techniques such as liquid chromatography/mass-spectrometry are used to investigate formation and deactivation of anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol in brain cells. Protein purification and cloning approaches are employed to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes. Cellular pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, in collaboration with leading international labs, are used to identify pharmacological agents that interfere with various aspects of endogenous cannabinoid function, and their therapeutic potential is explored in vitro and in vivo.
Dr. Piomelli is also the Director of the UCI Department of Pharmacology NIDA Training Grant and the Center for Drug Discovery.
Publications Recent Publications:
N. Stella, P. Schweitzer and D. Piomelli, 1997. A second endogenous cannabinoid that modulates long-term potentiation. Nature 388, 773-778.
M. Beltramo, N. Stella, A. Calignano, S.Y. Lin, A. Makryiannis and D. Piomelli, 1997. Functional role of high-affinity anandamide transport, as revealed by selective inhibition. Science 277, 1094-1097.
A. Calignano, G. La Rana, A. Giuffrida and D. Piomelli, 1998. Control of pain initiation by endogenous cannabinoids. Nature 394, 277-281.
A. Giuffrida, L. Parsons, T.M. Kerr, F. Rodríguez de Fonseca, M. Navarro and D. Piomelli, 1999. Dopamine activation of endogenous cannabinoid signaling in dorsal striatum. Nat Neurosci 2, 358-363.
D. Piomelli, M. Beltramo, S. Glasnapp, S.Y. Lin, A. Goutopoulos, Xiang-Qun Xie and A. Makriyannis, 1999. Structural determinants for recognition and translocation by the anandamide transporter. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96, 5802-5807.
I. Katona, F. Désarnaud, A. Giuffrida, G. La Rana, K. Mackie, T.F. Freund and D. Piomelli, 2000. Bidirectional control of airway responsiveness by endogenous cannabinoids. Nature 408, 96-101.
F. Rodríguez de Fonseca, M. Navarro, R. Gómez, L. Escuredo, F. Nava, J. Fu, E. Murillo-Rodríguez, A. Giuffrida, J. LoVerme, S. Gaetani, S. Kathuria, C. Gall and D. Piomelli, 2001. An anorexic lipid mediator regulated by feeding. Nature 414, 209-212.
T. Dinh, D. Carpenter, F.M. Leslie, T.F. Freund, I. Katona, S.L. Sensi, S. Kathuria and D. Piomelli, 2002. Brain monoglyceride lipase participating in endocannabinoid inactivation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99, 10819-10824.
S. Kathuria, S. Gaetani, D. Fegley, F. Valiño, A. Duranti, A. Tontini, M. Mor, G. Tarzia, G. La Rana, A. Calignano, A. Giustino, M. Tattoli, M. Palmery, V. Cuomo and D. Piomelli, 2003. Modulation of anxiety through blockade of anandamide hydrolysis. Nat Med 9, 76-81.
T.F. Freund, I. Katona and D. Piomelli, 2003. The role of endogenous cannabinoids in synaptic signaling. Physiol Rev 83, 1017-1066.
J. Fu, S. Gaetani, F. Oveisi, J. LoVerme, A. Serrano, F. Rodríguez de Fonseca, A. Rosengarth, H. Luecke, B. Di Giacomo, G. Tarzia and D. Piomelli, 2003. Oleylethanolamide regulates feeding and body weight through activation of PPAR-?. Nature 425, 90-93.
D. Piomelli, 2003. The molecular logic of endocannabinoid signalling. Nat Rev Neurosci 4, 873-884.
D. Fegley, S. Kathuria, R. Mercier, C. Li, A. Goutopoulos, A. Makriyannis and D. Piomelli, 2004. Anandamide transport is independent of fatty-acid amide hydrolase activity and is blocked by the hydrolysis resistant inhibitor AM1172. Pro Natl Acad Sci U S A 101, 8756-8761.
A.G. Hohmann, R.L. Suplita II, N.M. Bolton, M.H. Neely, D. Fegley, R. Mangieri, J. Krey, J.M. Walker, P.V. Holmes, J.D. Crystal, A. Duranti, A. Tontini, M. Mor, G. Tarzia and D. Piomelli, 2005. An endocannabinoid mechanism for stress-induced analgesia. Nature 435, 1108-1112.
J. Makara, M. Mor, D. Fegley, S.I. Szabo, S. Kathuria, G. Astarita, A. Duranti, A. Tontini, G. Tarzia, S. Rivara, T. Freund and D. Piomelli, 2005. Selective inhibition of 2-AG hydrolysis enhances endocannabinoid signaling in hippocampus. Nat Neurosci 8, 1139-1141.
M.D. Van Sickle, M. Duncan, P. J. Kingsley, A. Mouihate, P. Urbani, K. Mackie, N. Stella, A. Makriyannis, D. Piomelli, J. S. Davison, L.J. Marnett, V. Di Marzo, Q.J. Pittman, K. D. Patel and K.A. Sharkey, 2005. Identification and Characterization of Brainstem Cannabinoid CB2 Receptors. Science 310, 329-332.
G. Gobbi, F.R. Bambico, R. Mangieri, M. Bortolato, P. Campolongo, M. Solinas, T. Cassano, M.G. Morgese, G. Debonnel, A. Duranti, A. Tontini, G. Tarzia, M. Mor, V. Trezza, S.R. Goldberg, V. Cuomo, and D. Piomelli, 2005. Antidepressant-like activity and modulation of brain monoaminergic transmission by blockade of anandamide hydrolysis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 102, 18620-18625.
D. Piomelli, G. Astarita and R. Rapaka, 2007. A neuroscientist’s guide to lipidomics. Nat Rev Neurosci, 8, 743-754.
G.J. Schwartz, J. Fu, G. Astarita, X. Li, S. Gaetani, P. Campolongo, V. Cuomo and D. Piomelli, 2008. The lipid messenger OEA links dietary fat intake to satiety. Cell Metab 8, 281-288. PMCID: PMC2572640.
P. Campolongo, B. Roozendaal, V. Trezza, V. Cuomo, G. Astarita, J. Fu, J.L. McGaugh and D. Piomelli, 2009. Fat-induced satiety factor oleoylethanolamide enhances memory consolidation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A., 106, 8027-8031.
Grants National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) RC2 DA028902, 09/30/09-08/31/12, $821,601 direct costs, Lipid biosignatures of drug addiction (Role: P.I.).
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) DP1 DA031387, 09/30/10-07/31/15, $2,521,463 direct costs, Optimization and preclinical development of FAAH inhibitors for smoking cessation (Role: P.I.).
UC Discovery, Proof of Concept #212120, 09/01/11-11/30/12, $250,000 direct costs, A novel treatment of conronic pain (Role: P.I.).
Professional
Societies Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Member, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)
Member, American Physiological Society
Member, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biol
Member, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental T
Member, International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS)
Member, International Brain Research Organization
Member, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Member, Società Italiana di Farmacologia
Member, Society for Neuroscience
Graduate Programs Pharmacology and Toxicology
Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology
Cellular and Molecular Biosciences
Link to this profile
http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=4840
Last updated 09/04/2012