Exercise and Sport Sciences: Health, Performance and Healthy Longevity
Annamaria Mancini graduated in Biology (2000) and completed a postgraduate specialization in Laboratory Medicine (2004) at the University of Naples Federico II. She earned her PhD in Biotechnology (2008), conducting training and research activities at CEINGE – Advanced Biotechnology Franco Salvatore in Naples. From 2000 to 2003, she conducted research at BIOGEM (Ariano Irpino, Italy), and from 2008 to 2010, she was responsible for a research project on the genetics of obesity at the IRCCS Fondazione SDN in Naples. She joined the University of Naples "Parthenope" in 2010, initially as a fixed-term researcher, and has been an Associate Professor of Exercise and Sport Sciences since 2020. She holds the Italian National Scientific Qualification for Full Professor in the same academic field. She serves on the Doctoral Boards of the PhD Programmes in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences at the University of Naples "Parthenope" and in Exercise and Sport Sciences at the Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro. She is Chair of the Joint Committee for Quality Assurance, Research and Third Mission/Social Impact (AQ/Ric-TM/IS) of the Department of Medical, Movement and Wellbeing Sciences (DiSMMeb) and serves as the University's Institutional Representative for UniSport. She is a member of the Italian Society of Movement and Sport Sciences (SISMES), where she serves as an Auditor, and is also a member of the International Sport Science Research Network "In Motus Salus" and the international "Football is Medicine" network. She has authored over 50 scientific publications in international journals and contributed chapters to academic books.
Her research focuses on the effects of physical activity and sport on health, performance, and healthy longevity in healthy individuals, vulnerable populations, and athletes. Her transdisciplinary approach integrates physiological and functional assessments with advanced molecular methodologies, including differential transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and lipidomic analyses. Through an international collaboration with Professor Peter Krustrup's research group at the University of Southern Denmark and the "Football is Medicine" platform, her research investigates molecular adaptations induced by long-term physical exercise, with particular emphasis on DNA repair mechanisms, autophagy, regulation of cellular senescence, and modulation of longevity-associated microRNAs. Additional research focuses on the effects of physical activity and sport on body composition, metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and cardiorespiratory and muscular function. Within the NutriSportHealthLab Research Facility, her research also focuses on the integrated assessment of physical fitness, cardiorespiratory fitness, and performance in athletes and non-athletes, aiming to develop personalized training protocols for health promotion, injury and chronic disease prevention, and sports performance optimization.
1. Physical Exercise, Molecular Mechanisms and Healthy Longevity
Investigation of molecular adaptations induced by physical exercise and sport using advanced omics approaches, with particular emphasis on aging processes and healthy longevity.
2. Physical Activity, Microbiota and Metabolic Health
Investigation of the effects of physical exercise on the microbiota, metabolism, and prevention of chronic diseases in healthy individuals, vulnerable populations, and athletes.
3. Functional Assessment, Fitness and Performance
Assessment of cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness and development of personalized training protocols aimed at promoting health and optimizing sports performance.