She conducts research in the field of cellular and molecular biology applied to human health, with particular emphasis on the study of the effects of natural compounds, plant extracts, and foods on cellular and molecular mechanisms under both physiological and pathological conditions.
Her main research interests focus on two- and three-dimensional in vitro models of human tissues, particularly intestine and skin, applied to the study of inflammation, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, and oncological pathologies, including colorectal carcinoma and melanoma.
Education:
She obtained her degree in Biological Sciences in 2003 from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. She earned a PhD in Molecular and Regenerative Medicine in 2009 and completed her specialization in Clinical Pathology in 2010.
During the period 2004–2005, she carried out research abroad at Boston University, Department of Internal Medicine, Boston Medical Center, within a study focused on the regulatory mechanisms and effects of the MDR1 receptor in human melanoma cells.
Academic career:
From 2003 to 2017, she conducted research activities at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, mainly at the Skin Biology Laboratory of the Modena University Hospital, focusing on the study of molecular mechanisms involved in epidermal differentiation, psoriasis, and melanoma. During this period, she was the recipient of research grants, fellowships, and nationally competitive research projects.
Since 2017, she has been carrying out research activities at the Biology Laboratory of the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Technologies, University of Bologna. Her research focuses on the analysis of the effects of bioactive compounds of natural origin on human cellular models, with particular attention to the processes of autophagy, inflammation, cell death, and tumor progression, through the use of reconstructed three-dimensional cellular models of intestine and skin, both healthy and pathological.
She has been the principal investigator of several funded research projects, including grant fellowships awarded by the Umberto Veronesi Foundation (2015–2017; 2021–2024) and a project funded by the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Johns Hopkins University.
She has participated in several European and national research projects, including SPIN, SPIN OFF, and SPRINT (H2020), and actively collaborates with academic institutions, research organizations, and companies in the agri-food and biomedical sectors.
Teaching activity
From 2020 to 2023, she served as a Teaching Tutor for the Soft Skills course “The Scientific Approach to Problem Solving” at the University of Bologna.
She also supervises undergraduate, master’s, second-level master’s, and PhD theses in the fields of biology, biotechnology, nutrition, and agri-food sciences.
Scientific activity
She is the author of more than 40 scientific publications in international peer-reviewed journals and of one national patent.
Membership in scientific and editorial committees
Since November 2024, she has been a member of the Italian Society of Biochemistry (SIB).
Guest editor for the Methods Collection of JovE, entitled “An Overview of Static and Dynamic Intestinal In Vitro Models [https://www.jove.com/methods-collections/1726]
Guest editor of the special issue “Human Health, Nutrition and Organic Food” per la rivista Nutrients https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients/special_issues/Human_Nutrition_Organic
Guest editor of the special issue "Medical Plants and Polyphenols" per la rivista International Journal of Molecular Sciences https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms/special_issues/Medical_Plants_Polyphenols
Awards and acknowledgments
She has received numerous national and international awards and recognitions for her research activity, including fellowships and travel grants from the European Society for Dermatological Research, the Society for Investigative Dermatology, and the La Roche-Posay Foundation.
