Prof Maria Pia Amato

Professor Maria Pia Amato obtained her medical degree at the University of Florence (Italy) in 1983 and became a Board Certified Neurologist in 1987.

She received a specific training in clinical neuroepidemiology as a Research Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (USA) and at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam (The Netherlands).

She is Associate Professor of Neurology and responsible for the MS Unit at the Department of Neurology, University of Florence, co-chair of the MS Research Group of the Italian Neurological Society and Italian Delegate for MS at the European Federation of Neurological Societies.

She is actively involved in research on MS, at both the national and international level, having published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Her specific research focus deals with neuropsychology, clinical epidemiology and therapeutic trials in MS. Among the most relevant contributions in the field of MS-related cognitive disorders are long-term, longitudinal studies on the natural history of cognitive dysfunction, studies on cognitive functioning and relevant MRI correlates in the “benign” phenotype of MS and, more recently, the longitudinal study on cognitive and psychosocial issues in pediatric MS.