Dr Matilde Balbi
Senior Research Fellow
Queensland Brain Institute
Dr Matilde Balbi: Neuromodulation and homeostatic processes
The Balbi lab employs a multi-level approach, combining in vivo imaging techniques, brain stimulation—including but not exclusively optogenetics—and AI driven, individually tailored recovery paradigms in behaving rodents, to investigate intrinsic neuroprotective mechanisms of the brain under pathological conditions such as stroke.
Researcher biography
Dr. Matilde Balbi is a neuroscientist within the Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland. After receiving her bachelor and master's degree in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Naples,Italy, she spent a year working on traumatic brain injury at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as a research assistant. Dr. Balbi earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, working on the regulation of cerebral blood flow in health (ageing) and disease (small vessel disease and subarachnoid haemorrhage). She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where she received support and fellowships from the Leducq Foundation, CPSR, MSFHR. She now leads her laboratory which aims to make an impact on the field of stroke recovery and other pathological conditions by combining imaging techniques, brain stimulation and individually tailored recovery paradigms in behaving rodents.
Publications
Journal Articles
Valenza, Marta, Facchinetti, Roberta, Torazza, Carola, Ciarla, Claudia, Bronzuoli, Maria Rosanna, Balbi, Matilde, Bonanno, Giambattista, Popoli, Maurizio, Steardo, Luca, Milanese, Marco, Musazzi, Laura, Bonifacino, Tiziana and Scuderi, Caterina (2024). Molecular signatures of astrocytes and microglia maladaptive responses to acute stress are rescued by a single administration of ketamine in a rodent model of PTSD. Translational Psychiatry, 14 (1) 209. doi: 10.1038/s41398-024-02928-6
Wang, Cong, Samantzis, Montana and Balbi, Matilde (2024). Protocol to measure monosynaptic connections between different cortical regions in mice using cell-pair cross correlogram of spike events. STAR Protocols, 5 (2) 103035, 103035. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103035
Samantzis, Montana, Wang, Cong and Balbi, Matilde (2024). Gamma oscillations and their role in orchestrating balance and communication following stroke. Neural Regeneration Research, 20 (2), 477-478. doi: 10.4103/nrr.nrr-d-24-00127
Bonifacino, Tiziana, Mingardi, Jessica, Facchinetti, Roberta, Sala, Nathalie, Frumento, Giulia, Ndoj, Elona, Valenza, Marta, Paoli, Caterina, Ieraci, Alessandro, Torazza, Carola, Balbi, Matilde, Guerinoni, Michele, Muhammad, Nadeem, Russo, Isabella, Milanese, Marco, Scuderi, Caterina, Barbon, Alessandro, Steardo, Luca, Bonanno, Giambattista, Popoli, Maurizio and Musazzi, Laura (2023). Changes at glutamate tripartite synapses in the prefrontal cortex of a new animal model of resilience/vulnerability to acute stress. Translational Psychiatry, 13 (1) 62. doi: 10.1038/s41398-023-02366-w
Michelson, Nicholas J., Bolaños, Federico, Bolaños, Luis A., Balbi, Matilde, LeDue, Jeffrey M. and Murphy, Timothy H. (2023). Meso-Py: dual brain cortical calcium imaging in mice during head-fixed social stimulus presentation. eneuro, 10 (12) ENEURO.0096-23.2023, 1-13. doi: 10.1523/eneuro.0096-23.2023
Wang, Cong, Lin, Caixia, Zhao, Yue, Samantzis, Montana, Sedlak, Petra, Sah, Pankaj and Balbi, Matilde (2023). 40-Hz optogenetic stimulation rescues functional synaptic plasticity after stroke. Cell Reports, 42 (12) 113475, 1-20. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113475
Torazza, Carola, Provenzano, Francesca, Gallia, Elena, Cerminara, Maria, Balbi, Matilde, Bonifacino, Tiziana, Tessitore, Sara, Ravera, Silvia, Usai, Cesare, Musante, Ilaria, Puliti, Aldamaria, Van Den Bosch, Ludo, Jafar-nejad, Paymaan, Rigo, Frank, Milanese, Marco and Bonanno, Giambattista (2023). Genetic Downregulation of the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Type 5 Dampens the Reactive and Neurotoxic Phenotype of Adult ALS Astrocytes. Cells, 12 (15) 1952, 1952. doi: 10.3390/cells12151952
Schwarting, Julian, Nehrkorn, Katrin, Harapan, Biyan N., Balbi, Matilde, Terpolilli, Nicole A. and Plesnila, Nikolaus (2023). Pericytes are not associated with reduced capillary perfusion after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage. Stroke, 54 (8), 2172-2177. doi: 10.1161/strokeaha.123.042936
Balbi, Matilde, Blackmore, Daniel G., Padmanabhan, Pranesh and Götz, Jürgen (2022). Ultrasound-mediated bioeffects in senescent mice and Alzheimer’s mouse models. Brain Sciences, 12 (6) 775, 1-12. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12060775
Storch, Sven, Samantzis, Montana and Balbi, Matilde (2021). Driving Oscillatory Dynamics: Neuromodulation for Recovery After Stroke. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 15 712664, 712664. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.712664
Bernier, Louis-Philippe, Brunner, Clément, Cottarelli, Azzurra and Balbi, Matilde (2021). Location Matters: Navigating Regional Heterogeneity of the Neurovascular Unit. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 15 696540, 696540. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.696540
Balbi, Matilde, Xiao, Dongsheng, Jativa Vega, Max, Hu, Hao, Vanni, Matthieu P., Bernier, Louis-Philippe, LeDue, Jeffrey, MacVicar, Brian and Murphy, Timothy H. (2021). Gamma frequency activation of inhibitory neurons in the acute phase after stroke attenuates vascular and behavioral dysfunction. Cell Reports, 34 (5) 108696, 108696. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108696
Lynch, Cillian E, Eisenbaum, Maxwell, Algamal, Moustafa, Balbi, Matilde, Ferguson, Scott, Mouzon, Benoit, Saltiel, Nicole, Ojo, Joseph, Diaz-Arrastia, Ramon, Mullan, Mike, Crawford, Fiona and Bachmeier, Corbin (2020). Impairment of cerebrovascular reactivity in response to hypercapnic challenge in a mouse model of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 41 (6), 0271678X2095401-1378. doi: 10.1177/0271678x20954015
Murphy, Timothy H., Michelson, Nicholas J., Boyd, Jamie D., Fong, Tony, Bolanos, Luis A., Bierbrauer, David, Siu, Teri, Balbi, Matilde, Bolanos, Federico, Vanni, Matthieu and LeDue, Jeff M. (2020). Automated task training and longitudinal monitoring of mouse mesoscale cortical circuits using home cages. eLife, 9 e55964, 1-91. doi: 10.7554/elife.55964
Balbi, Matilde, Vanni, Matthieu P., Vega, Max J., Silasi, Gergely, Sekino, Yuki, Boyd, Jamie D., LeDue, Jeffrey M. and Murphy, Timothy H. (2019). Longitudinal monitoring of mesoscopic cortical activity in a mouse model of microinfarcts reveals dissociations with behavioral and motor function. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 39 (8), 1486-1500. doi: 10.1177/0271678x18763428
Balbil, Matilde, Vega, Max Jativa, Lourbopoulos, Athanasios, Terpolilli, Nicole A. and Plesnila, Nikolaus (2019). Long-term impairment of neurovascular coupling following experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 40 (6), 1193-1202. doi: 10.1177/0271678x19863021
Ardesch, Dirk Jan, Balbi, Matilde and Murphy, Timothy H. (2017). Automated touch sensing in the mouse tapered beam test using Raspberry Pi. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 291, 221-226. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.08.030
Balbi, Matilde, Koide, Masayo, Wellman, George C. and Plesnila, Nikolaus (2017). Inversion of neurovascular coupling after subarachnoid hemorrhage in vivo. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 37 (11), 3625-3634. doi: 10.1177/0271678x16686595
Vanni, Matthieu P., Chan, Allen W., Balbi, Matilde, Silasi, Gergely and Murphy, Timothy H. (2017). Mesoscale mapping of mouse cortex reveals frequency-dependent cycling between distinct macroscale functional modules. Journal of Neuroscience, 37 (31), 7513-7533. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.3560-16.2017
Balbi, Matilde, Vanni, Matthieu P., Silasi, Gergely, Sekino, Yuki, Bolanos, Luis, LeDue, Jeffrey M. and Murphy, Timothy H. (2017). Targeted ischemic stroke induction and mesoscopic imaging assessment of blood flow and ischemic depolarization in awake mice. Neurophotonics, 4 (3), 1. doi: 10.1117/1.nph.4.3.035001
Lourbopoulos, Athanasios, Mamrak, Uta, Roth, Stefan, Balbi, Matilde, Shrouder, Joshua, Liesz, Arthur, Hellal, Farida and Plesnila, Nikolaus (2017). Inadequate food and water intake determine mortality following stroke in mice. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 37 (6), 2084-2097. doi: 10.1177/0271678x16660986
Balbi, Matilde, Koide, Masayo, Schwarzmaier, Susanne M., Wellman, George C. and Plesnila, Nikolaus (2017). Acute changes in neurovascular reactivity after subarachnoid hemorrhage in vivo. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 37 (1), 178-187. doi: 10.1177/0271678x15621253
Schwarzmaier, Susanne M., de Chaumont, Ciaran, Balbi, Matilde, Terpolilli, Nicole A., Kleinschnitz, Christoph, Gruber, Andras and Plesnila, Nikolaus (2016). The formation of microthrombi in parenchymal microvessels after traumatic brain injury is independent of coagulation factor XI. Journal of Neurotrauma, 33 (17), 1634-1644. doi: 10.1089/neu.2015.4173
Meissner, Lilja, Gallozzi, Micaela, Balbi, Matilde, Schwarzmaier, Susanne, Tiedt, Steffen, Terpolilli, Nicole A. and Plesnila, Nikolaus (2016). Temporal profile of MicroRNA expression in contused cortex after traumatic brain injury in mice. Journal of Neurotrauma, 33 (8), 713-720. doi: 10.1089/neu.2015.4077
Ghosh, Mitrajit, Balbi, Matilde, Hellal, Farida, Dichgans, Martin, Lindauer, Ute and Plesnila, Nikolaus (2015). Pericytes are involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy. Annals of Neurology, 78 (6), 887-900. doi: 10.1002/ana.24512
Balbi, Matilde, Ghosh, Mitrajit, Longden, Thomas A., Vega, Max Jativa, Gesierich, Benno, Hellal, Farida, Lourbopoulos, Athanasios, Nelson, Mark T. and Plesnila, Nikolaus (2015). Dysfunction of mouse cerebral arteries during early aging. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 35 (9), 1445-1453. doi: 10.1038/jcbfm.2015.107
Prades, Roger, Oller-Salvia, Benjami, Schwarzmaier, Susanne M., Selva, Javier, Moros, Maria, Balbi, Matilde, Grazu, Valeria, de la Fuente, Jesus M., Egea, Gustavo, Plesnila, Nikolaus, Teixido, Meritxell and Giralt, Ernest (2015). Applying the retro-enantio approach to obtain a peptide capable of overcoming the blood-brain barrier. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 54 (13), 3967-3972. doi: 10.1002/anie.201411408