Personal information:
Date and place of birth: January 7th, 1987 in San Benedetto del Tronto (Italy)
Education:
2012: Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology Master Degree (summa cum laude), University of Bologna, with a thesis titled “Progettazione e sintesi di analoghi del crassiflorone come potenziali ligandi dual per il trattamento delle malattie tropicali dimenticate” (supervisor Prof. M.L. Bolognesi and co-supervisor Prof. A. Cavalli)
2014: Visiting PhD student at the Universidade Católica de Brasília, Prof. L.A. Soares Romeiro’s laboratory, working at the design and synthesis of multi-target cardanol derivatives against neglected tropical diseases, starting from the cashew nut-shell liquid as food waste material (MULTILATERAL project), within “Ciências Sem Fronteiras” initiative supported by Brazil IRT (joint supervision of Profs. M.L. Bolognesi and L.A. Soares Romeiro)
2014-2015: Visiting PhD student at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, USA), Dr. K.A. Jacobson’s laboratory, working at the design and synthesis of fluorescent probes and triazole-based antagonists for selective labeling of P2Y14 receptor
2016: PhD in Chemistry (curriculum Medicinal Chemistry) - 28th cycle, University of Bologna, within the regional SPINNER consortium project “NOVAMOLSTAM – New molecules for modulating stem cells” (supervisor Prof. M.L. Bolognesi and co-supervisor Prof. M. Roberti)
2016-2017: Temporary Postdoctoral research fellow, within the project “Design and synthesis of chemical probes for stemistry application”, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnologies, University of Bologna, Prof.M.L. Bolognesi’s laboratory
Professional Experience:
Mar. 2018-Oct. 2018: Scientific consultant, Eatruscan SRL (Italy)
Cannabis-based products research & development
Nov. 2018-Mar. 2020: Lab coordinator, Eatruscan SRL (Italy)
Cannabis-based products development: extraction, purification (crystallization, fractionated and molecular distillation) of cannabinoids, optimization of manufacturing/production processes, and HPLC analyses for the quantitative determination of major cannabinoids.
Oct. 2020-present: Junior Assistant Professor (fixed-term), Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna
Nov. 2021-Jan. 2022: Visiting Researcher at the Department of Chemistry, Imperial College of London, Prof. M. Fuchter’s laboratory, working at the design and synthesis of potential photoswitches.
HONORS/AWARD:
2014: Profutura research prize for young researchers (http://www.comune.bologna.it/iperbole/profutur/plaurice.htm
2014: “Marco Polo” Scholarship for scientific training abroad, University of Bologna
2014: Inside Front Cover: Two diseases, one approach: multitarget drug discovery in Alzheimer’s and neglected tropical diseases (Med Chem Commun 7/2014). Med Chem Commun, 2014, 5 (7), 834-834, https://doi.org/10.1039/C4MD90019G
2016: “Maria Nelly Pigini” Award for the best poster presented at 33rd Camerino-Cyprus Symposium
2017: COST Action (CA 15135) Trainee Grant for the participation to the Training School on “Computational Approaches to Polypharmacology”, University of Vienna (Austria)
2019: Front Cover: Discovery of sustainable drugs for neglected tropical diseases: Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL)‐based hybrids target mitochondrial function and ATP production in Trypanosoma brucei (ChemMedChem 6/2019). ChemMedChem 2019, 14 (6), 613-613, https://doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.201900135
2021: Inside Front Cover: Discovery of sustainable drugs for Alzheimer's disease: cardanol-derived cholinesterase inhibitors with antioxidant and anti-amyloid properties. RSC Med Chem, 2021, 12, 1020-1020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D1MD90026A
2021: Best Paul Ehrlich Network Project (PENP) oral presentation titled “Chimeric small molecules in the search for novel anti-trypanosomatid agents” at the Paul Ehrlich (PE) Euro-PhD Network virtual meeting (PEVM2021) on July 26th-28th, 2021.
2021: Front Cover: Sustainable production of pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and bioactive compounds from biomass and waste. Chem Soc Rev, 2021,50, 11183-11183, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CS90089G
2021: “Marco Polo” Scholarship for scientific training abroad, University of Bologna
2022: Selected by COST for participating to the "COST Leadership programme" (https://www.cost.eu/academy/young-and-itc-researchers/)
