Matteo Di Giosia is a researcher at the Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, University of Bologna. His research activity lies at the interface of organic chemistry, biotechnology and nanomedicine and focuses on the development of bio-nanostructured systems based on proteins, nanoparticles and bacteriophages for applications in precision medicine. His scientific interests include the synthesis and functionalization of protein-based nanoparticles, the design of bioconjugates between proteins and carbon nanomaterials (including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene), and the engineering of bacteriophages as nanotechnological platforms for therapeutic and diagnostic applications, with particular emphasis on the development of phototheranostic systems for oncological and antimicrobial applications.
Education
He obtained his Master’s degree in Chemistry with honors from the University of Bologna and his PhD in Chemical Sciences from the same institution, conducting research in the field of bio-inspired nanotechnologies and biomolecule–nanomaterial hybrid systems.
Academic career
After completing his PhD, he carried out research activities at the Department of Chemistry “G. Ciamician” of the University of Bologna within several national and European research projects. During his career he spent research periods abroad as a visiting researcher at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and at the Center for BioNano Interactions, University College Dublin.
He coordinates competitive national research projects in the field of bionanotechnologies applied to photomedicine. In particular, he is unit leader of the project PHOCA – Photoactivated oncological therapy in a controlled cellular microenvironment (PRIN 2022) and of the project PhageLight – Phage-based nanoplatforms for light-activated antimicrobial and therapeutic applications (Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna, 2023), both focused on the development of bio-nanostructured systems for phototheranostic applications in oncology. He was also Principal Investigator of the project SYNERGY – Fullerene@protein hybrids: multifunctional photo/sono sensitizers for anticancer therapy, funded by the AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research, aimed at developing fullerene–protein hybrid systems as multifunctional photosensitizers for anticancer therapies.
During his scientific career he has also participated as a team member in several competitive national and international research projects, including BIOTAXI (SIR), MOSAIC (ERC Starting Grant), CORALWARM (ERC Advanced Grant) and ECLIPSE (EIC Pathfinder Open).
Teaching activity
He is involved in teaching activities at the University of Bologna, mainly within laboratory courses in Organic Chemistry and Bioconjugation Techniques for Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes. He also supervises Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD students in laboratory research activities and serves as tutor for researchers recruited within competitive research projects.
Scientific activity
He is the author of numerous publications in international scientific journals in the fields of bioconjugation chemistry, bionanotechnology and photomedicine for applications in precision therapies. He is also the inventor of patents related to the development of phage-based platforms and nanotechnological systems for innovative cancer therapies and biosensing platforms for pathogen detection.
ORCID, Scopus, Web of Science
Peer review activity
He serves as reviewer for several international scientific journals, including Nature Communications, Nanoscale, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B, and Biomaterials Advances.
Publons profile
Public engagement
He is actively involved in science communication activities aimed at the general public. In particular, he participates in the international science outreach festival Pint of Science.
Institutional roles and academic service
At the Department of Chemistry “G. Ciamician”, he serves as researcher representative in the Department Board and is a member of several departmental and degree programme committees, including the equipment committee, the Quality Assurance Committee of the Master’s degree in Photochemistry and Molecular Materials, and the EU Projects Task Force. He also contributes to the institutional activities of the University of Bologna by serving on Bachelor’s and PhD examination committees and selection committees for research fellowships and grants.
Awards and recognitions
He has received several scientific recognitions, including the Young Investigator Award of the Italian Society of Photobiology (2022) and an AIRC fellowship supporting the development of independent research projects.
