Summary
Dr Stefano Sandrone is a neuroscientist and an educationalist with a proven track record in:
- Medical education research
- History of neurology and neuroscience
- Neuroimaging and neuroplasticity
Dr Sandrone holds leadership roles in national and international committees, from the Italian Minister of Health to the American Academy of Neurology, and has key external examining responsibilities in leading UK universities.
At Imperial, he is the deputy director for the MRes Experimental Neuroscience and the MSc Translational Neuroscience. He is also a Senior Tutor and Welfare Tutor and has teaching responsibilities and leadership roles at Departmental, Faculty and College levels.
BIOSKETCH
He was born in Canelli, Italy, in 1988, and he has been studying and doing research in Milan, Zurich and London.
In 2014 he was selected as a young scientist at the 64th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Physiology and Medicine (attended by 37 Nobel Laureates and 600 young scientists worldwide). For this, he has been included in Wired magazine’s list of ‘promising Italians under 35’.
In 2015 he co-authored a book entitled Brain Renaissance. It received a one-page review in Nature on its release and won the biennial Award for Outstanding Book in the History of the Neurosciences presented by the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences. In the same year, he also wrote an online commentary for the Neuroanatomy chapter of the 41st edition of Gray’s Anatomy, thus becoming one of the youngest contributors ever (bona fide the youngest one).
In 2016 he was awarded the H. Richard Tyler Award for the History of Neurology presented by the American Academy of Neurology, which is the world’s largest association of neurologists, and its Archive Committee. Moreover, he was selected as a member of the Young European Leadership Delegation at the European Parliament for the European Youth Event and recognised as an Associated Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, the British professional institution promoting excellence in higher education.
In 2017 he has been elected as Vice Chair of the History of Neurology Section at the American Academy of Neurology for the 2017-2019 term and was recognised as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
In 2018 he was nominated as one of the eleven experts under 40 within the Comitato Tecnico Sanitario Italian Minister of Health.
In 2019 he was awarded the Lawrence C. McHenry Award from the American Academy of Neurology, thus receiving his second Academy Award in three years, and he was elected as the youngest Chair within the Academy. In the same year, he was also awarded the Julia Higgins Award from Imperial College London for ‘his significant contribution to the support of academic women at the College’ and won the Science Educator Award at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, which is one of the largest conferences in the world (attended by more than 28000 scientists).
In 2020 he won the President’s Award for Excellence in Education from Imperial College London and the A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award from the American Academy of Neurology. He was also recognised as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
In 2021 he joined the European Health Parliament as a member of the Young European Leadership Delegation, authored the book entitled Nobel Life (Cambridge University Press), which was selected by Forbes as an honourable mention in The Best Higher Education Books Of 2021, and received his MEd (distinction).
In 2022 he published the book entitled The Birth of Modern Neuroscience in Turin (Oxford University Press) and won the TASME Mentorship Award.
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH EXPERTISE
- Active learning and flipped classroom in neuroscience and psychiatry education
- Identity development in neuroscience education
- Identity and sense of belonging in STEM
- Augmented and virtual reality in neurology and neuroscience education
- Metaverse in medical education
- Mentoring schemes for women in neurology
TEACHING ROLES
At Imperial College, Dr Sandrone teaches on the following courses:
-MRes Experimental Neuroscience
-MSc Translational Neuroscience
-MBBS/BSc Neuroscience and Mental Health
-Graduate School
Global Postgraduate Retreat on ‘Communication and Teamwork’
How to survive and enjoy the Master lab experience
How to Prepare for a Master’s Viva
-Global Fellows programmes
London
Munich
Media coverage (selection)
Class (Italy), Discover Magazine Blogs (USA), EcoDiario.es (Spain), Espresso (Italy), Fanpage (Italy), Focus (Italy), Gehirn und Geist (Germany), Gemini.no (Norway), Gravita’ Zero (Italy), Investigación y Ciencia (Spain), La Stampa (Italy), La Tercera (Chile), Le Scienze (Italy), Motherboard (USA), Neue Zürcher Zeitung Folio (Switzerland), National Public Radio (USA), New Scientist (United Kingdom), Rai Uno (Italy), Rai Due (Italy), Sapere (Italy), Science News (USA), Smithsonian (USA), Spiegel Online (Germany), Wired (Italy).
Publications
Journals
Sandrone S, Aiello M, Cavaliere C, et al., 2023, Mapping myelin in white matter with T1-weighted/T2-weighted maps: discrepancy with histology and other myelin MRI measures, Brain Structure & Function, ISSN:1863-2653
Sandrone S, 2022, Medical education in the metaverse, Nature Medicine, ISSN:1078-8956
Sandrone S, Ntonia I, 2022, Exploring the identity development of the budding neuroscientist at postgraduate level: a mixed-method study with perspectives from alumni and academics, Bmc Medical Education, Vol:22, ISSN:1472-6920, Pages:1-14
Sandrone S, 2022, Leslie G. Ungerleider (1946-2020), Journal of Neurology, ISSN:0340-5354
Sandrone S, 2022, Roger W. Sperry (1913-1994), Journal of Neurology, Vol:269, ISSN:0340-5354, Pages:5194-5195