Marianna Kulka

National Research Council Italy

Dr. Marianna Kulka obtained her PhD from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where she studied the role of ion channels in mast cell activation. Dr. Kulka completed her research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, USA where she became interested in human mast cell differentiation and expression of pathogen recognition receptors. Dr. Kulka was a Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University and investigated mast cells and their role in allergic inflammation until she accepted a research position at the National Research Council (NRC) Canada in 2007. At the NRC, Dr. Kulka has established an immunology research group that is interested in skin microenvironments, human mast cell biology and the use of nanotechnology to improve human health.

1books edited

4chapters authored

Latest work with IntechOpen by Marianna Kulka

The medicinal use of plants, animals and microorganisms has been a part of human evolution and likely began before recorded history. Is it possible that this knowledge can be used to create powerful new drugs and solve some of the human health problems facing us today? This book is a collection of an expert team of agronomists, chemists, biologists and policy makers who discuss some of the processes involved in developing a naturally-sourced bioactive compound into a drug therapy. These experts define a natural compound and elucidate the processes required to find, extract and define a naturally-derived bioactive molecule. Finally, they describe the necessity for understanding the fundamental mechanisms of disease before applying bioactive molecules in bioassay-guided drug discovery platforms.

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