Dr Francesca Mattedi has received the 2022 Tadion Rideal Prize for the study of the interplay between mitochondrial dynamics and function. The project aims to understand how they influence each other and how their impairments contribute to neuronal ageing.

In this project, she developed optogenetic tools for precise manipulation of mitochondrial function and dynamics. Her doctoral study resulted in nine publications, four of which she was the lead author for. 

Dr Mattedi was nominated by her supervisor, Dr Alessio Vagnoni, a lecturer at Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute at King's College London. She was selected after assessment by an expert panel of academics in the relevant fields from across the university. 

The Tadio Rideal Prize was instituted in 1983 with a gift of £10,000 from Dr J. Tadion to commemorate his association with the late Sir Eric Rideal FRS and King’s College London. The prize of £1,000 is awarded annually to one doctoral student who has carried out research for a PhD degree in molecular science. Selection was done by the Centre for Doctoral Studies.

Dr Mattedi is currently a postdoctoral researcher investigating the pathways leading to neurodegeneration in human cellular models.

For more information, please see the Centre for Doctoral Studies blog.