“Rita Levi Montalcini” scholars: supporting young pioneers in neuroscience
Meet Yimei, Giacomo, Eleonora and Francesco, four out of the 16 recipients of the Rita Levi Montalcini scholarships. Named after the only female Italian Nobel Laureate in medicine, the scholarships are awarded since 2021 by the Dompé Foundation. Now in its third year, this funding opportunity is open to students of all nationalities who have already been admitted to a Master’s, PhD or Post-doc program in neuroscience and/or neurobiology at a US university. From unravelling the mechanisms of hallucinations in mice to pioneering breakthroughs in retinal diseases: these scholars dream of reshaping the future of neuroscience. Check out this video to learn more about their journeys and ambitions.
Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Yimei: Hi my name is Yimei Cai and I’m originally from China. I’m currently studying pharmacology and physiology at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.
Giacomo: My name is Giacomo Vedovati and I’m a rising third year PhD student in systems science and mathematics in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.
Eleonora: I'm Eleonora Bano and I'm a graduate student in the Neuroscience Department of Washington University in St. Louis
Francesco: I'm Francesco Cappellani and I'm currently studying at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.

Yimei Cai, 2022 fellow – Georgetown University
Why is the Dompé Foundation fellowship important to you?
Eleonora: The Dompé fellowship was a great acknowledgement of all the sacrifices and efforts I've been making throughout these many years far away from home.
Giacomo: It’s a jumpstart for my research career in the US.
Yimei: It allows me to focus more on my work.
Francesco: The fellowship gave me the great opportunity to start working in research.

Giacomo Vedovati, 2022 fellow – Washington University in St. Louis
What is your research area?
Yimei: My research focuses on elucidating the mechanism of homeostatic plasticity at neural synapses and this is something which is very important in many neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases and disorders.
Eleonora: I focus my research on hallucinations in mice and my goal is to understand how neurobiology gives rise to such a weird phenomenon.
Giacomo: We know traditionally that neurons are responsible for carrying all the computation that happens in the brain. However, recent discovery told us that they're not the only ones: we have many other cells involved in the process of decision making, specifically astrocytes. What I've done so far is to develop a computational model that considers the interaction between neurons and astrocytes.
Francesco: My research is focusing on retinal diseases.

Eleonora Bano - 2021 fellow – Washington University in St. Louis
What is your dream for your future?
Yimei: In the future I would like to try to work on how to bring neuroscience to the general public to educate new generations.
Francesco: Become an ophthalmologist.
Eleonora: I would like to produce some knowledge that can help people, like patients with schizophrenia, and understand what really happens in their brain and why do they experience what they experience.