Rate My Professor Simona Carbone

Dr. Simona Carbone is a Senior Research Fellow in the Drug Discovery Biology theme at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, within the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University. As an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellow, she co-directs the Integrated Neurogenic Mechanisms Laboratory with Associate Professors Daniel Poole and Nicholas Veldhuis. Holding degrees of BMedSc, BSc(Hons), and PhD, Carbone's research expertise lies in electrophysiology, enteric neurobiology, and gastrointestinal pharmacology. Her work focuses on identifying novel targets to modulate the enteric nervous system (ENS), which controls gut functions such as motility and nutrient absorption. Specific interests include G protein-coupled receptors (e.g., delta-opioid receptors, muscarinic M1 receptors), mechanosensitive ion channels (e.g., TRPV4, Piezo1), and non-neuronal cells like enteric glia and muscularis macrophages. These efforts aim to develop treatments for disorders including Hirschsprung's disease, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease, considering factors like inflammation, aging, and species differences.

Carbone serves as a MIPS Teaching Fellow since 2018, contributing to curriculum design and delivering lectures, workshops, and practicals on gastrointestinal physiology and pathophysiology in the Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science degree. She holds honorary scientist positions at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (since 2019) and the Royal Melbourne Hospital (since 2015), and previously worked as a Research Associate at Victoria University. Her achievements include the Early Stage Investigator Prize at Digestive Diseases Week (2016) and the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility Young Investigator Prize (2018). Notable publications encompass "Contributions of bile acids to gastrointestinal physiology as receptor agonists and modifiers of ion channels" (2022), "Therapeutic potential of allosteric modulators for the treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders" (2024), and "Highly neurogenic glia from human and mouse myenteric ganglia generate functional neurons following culture and transplantation into the gut" (2024). Additionally, she participates as a peer reviewer for Gut Microbes and an editorial board member for Frontiers Media SA, and leads funded projects such as "Harnessing Endogenous Opioids to Treat Gut Motility Disorders and Pain" (2023–2026).