Clara Franzini-Armstrong (born October 3, 1938, in Florence) is an electron microscopist expert^[1] and Professor Emeritus of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania.^[2][3]

Clara Franzini was born in Florence, Italy, on October 3, 1938, along with her twin brother. She lived with her mother, father, and three other brothers: Paolo, Carlo, and Marco.^[4]

Franzini-Armstrong became interested in science during her schooling.^[4] Her father was an atomic physicist expert, and her mother was one of the few women of that time to earn a physics degree.^[4] Though her mother did not pursue a career in science, Franzini-Armstrong has said that she strongly encouraged her to do so, noting that “She gave [her] total equality with [her] brothers in all academic questions."^[4]

In 1956, Franzini-Armstrong enrolled in the biological sciences program at the University of Pisa and graduated with her Ph.D. in 1960.^[4] She became interested in electron microscopy after the Ministry of Education gave an electron microscope to the University of Pisa.^[5]

Franzini-Armstrong completed postdoctoral training at Keith R. Porter's laboratory at Harvard University.^[5] Her first major discovery was that T-tubules open at the cell surface, which helped to explain how muscle is activated to contract.^[4]

From 1963–1964, Franzini-Armstrong worked as Richard Podolsky's research assistant at the National Institutes of Health. From 1964–1966, she studied contractile machinery and optics in Sir Andrew Huxley's lab.^[4] From 1967–1975, Paul Horowitz assisted Franzini-Armstrong with her transition from trainee to a faculty member at the University of Rochester.^[6]

Franzini-Armstrong's research focuses on the organization of membranes and macromolecular complexes responsible for excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling in cardiac and skeletal muscles^[6] Her structural work can be divided into four main phases. The first phase focused on calcium cycling, particularly on defining the distribution and nature of the two membrane systems involved in this specific type of cycling.^{[citation needed]} Franzini-Armstrong's second phase involved discovering the location of channels that release calcium during muscle activation. She also demonstrated that in muscles with high activity rates, a limiting factor is the density of the pump protein and not the density of calcium release channels.^[5] The third phase identified the relationship between the L-type calcium channels of the plasmalemma and T-tubules in cardiac and skeletal muscles. Specifically, she worked with CaV channels or dihydropyridine receptors (DHPRs) and the calcium release channels of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (RyRs).^[5] Her fourth phase concerns the supramolecular complex that enables several molecules located in the sarcoplasmic reticulum that regulate calcium release to interact with one another. Franzini-Armstrong continues to utilize structural approaches to better comprehend the different interactions between molecules.^[6]

Franzini-Armstrong earned her Laurea degree in biological sciences at the University of Pisa, Italy from 1956–1960.^[7] From 1960–1961, she worked as an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Pisa. From 1961–1963, she completed a postdoctoral degree in cell biology at Harvard University while working in Dr. K. R. Porter's biology lab. From 1963–1964, she worked at the National Institutes of Health with Dr. R. J. Podolsky and earned a master of research degree in muscle physiology.^[7] From 1964–1966, she worked as a research assistant at the University College, London, with Prof. A. F. Huxley and earned another master of research degree in muscle structure. From 1967–1969, she worked as a research associate in physiology at Duke University. From 1969–1972, she worked as an associate in physiology at the University of Rochester.^[7] She was an assistant professor in physiology at the University of Rochester from 1972–1975 before becoming an associate professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania from 1975–1981. She was a professor in anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania from 1981–1992, and then a professor in cell and developmental biology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1992–2007.

Franzini-Armstrong has been an Emeritus Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania since 2007.^[8] She and her husband Clay Armstrong are members of the National Academy of Sciences; they are the only married couple to both be members.^[9] Her work has focused on electron microscopy of the inner workings of cells, specifically the structural bases of excitation-contraction coupling.^[9]

Franzini-Armstrong is married to Clay Armstrong, an expert in channel electrophysiologist and professor of physiology at the University of Pennsylvania.^[4] They have one son and three daughters.^[4]

Franzini-Armstrong's honors include a Fellowship from Scuola Normale Superiore from 1956–1960 in Pisa, Italy, and a “Perfezionamento” (postdoctoral fellowship) from Scuola Normale Superiore from 1990–1961, also in Pisa.^[7] From 1983–1987, she was a member of the Molecular Cytology Study Section. In 1988, she was the director of the Gordon Research Conference on Excitation-Contraction Coupling. From 1988–1990, she was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Then, from 1988–1990, she was a council member of the Biophysical Society.^[7] In 1989, she was the co-recipient with Dr. Knox Chandler of the K.C. Cole Award of the Biophysical Society. In 1990, she was the co-chairman of the Biophysical Society Symposium on Excitation-Contraction Coupling. In 1995, she was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences and, in 1997, she was awarded an honorary MD from the University of Pisa, Italy. In 2001, she was inducted into the Royal Society London as a foreign member. She was inducted into the European Academy of Sciences in 2005, followed by the 2007 Founder's Award for the Biophysical Society.^[5]