Education
2000: Degree in Medical Biotechnologies (old system), University of Bologna (110/110 cum laude)
Other education and professional qualifications
2005: PhD in Medical Biotechnologies, University of Bologna.
2010: Master's Degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Bologna.
2023: Specialization in Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Catania.
Internships, Scholarships, Study Visits
1999 Visiting student, Kimmel Cancer Institute, Philadelphia, USA (Prof. R Baserga) (3 months)
2000–2001 Visiting scientist, Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment of Candiolo, Oncological Genetics Laboratory, Candiolo (Prof. P Comoglio and Prof. MF di Renzo) (6 months)
Jun 2003 – Dec 2003 Scholarship, Univ. of Bologna, Interdepartmental Center for Cancer Research at the Lab. of Pathophysiology of Orthopedic Implants, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute
2003 Visiting scientist, University of Turku, Department of Anatomy, Finland (Prof. K Vaananen) (3 months)
2006 Visiting scientist, McGill University, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Division of Experimental Medicine and Department of Oncology (Prof. Michael Pollak), Montreal, Canada (1 month)
2018-2020 Guest Researcher, Center of Dental Medicine, University of Zurich (2 years)
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
National Scientific Qualification
2017 National Scientific Qualification, 2nd Band SSD BIO/13 Applied Biology (competition sector 05/F1)
2018 National Scientific Qualification, 2nd Band SSD BIO/17 Histology (competition sector 05/H2)
2018 National Scientific Qualification, 2nd Band SSD MED/50 Health Professions and Medical Technologies Sciences (competition sector 06/N1)
Courses
5-11 Oct 2004 Lecturer, Pathophysiology of the prosthetized bone, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute
2-6 May 2005 Lecturer, Summer School Biomaterials in Orthopaedics and dentistry, University of Bologna, Bologna
2010/2011 ‘Medical Genetics’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Orthopedic Techniques and Podiatry, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2011/2012 ‘Medical Genetics’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Orthopedic Techniques and Podiatry, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2014/2015 ‘Information processing systems - Healthcare Management (Integrated Course)’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Podiatry, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2015/2016 ‘Information processing systems - Healthcare Management (Integrated Course)’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Podiatry, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2016/2017 ‘Information processing systems - Healthcare Management (Integrated Course)’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Podiatry, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
25-28 Sep 2017 ‘Methabolic pathways of tumour cells: perspective for nanotechnological applications’ for the Advanced School in Nanomedicine (17th edition of the Summer School for Italian PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology), Pula (Cagliari)
2017/2018 ‘Information processing systems - Healthcare Management (Integrated Course)’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Podiatry, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2018/2019 ‘Module B1.2.2 - registration of samples according to confidentiality and traceability criteria' as part of the training plan for the Vertical Training Objective OFV1 called "Handling tissues and biobanking to produce advanced therapy products" within the project "Creation of a multi-regional infrastructure (Italian Regenerative Medicine Infrastructure, IRMI) for the development of advanced therapies aimed at the regeneration of organs and tissues", Ministry of Education, University and Research for the Development and enhancement of national technological clusters, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute (ALISEI Cluster)
2018/2019 ‘Module B1.4 Field quality management' as part of the training plan for the Vertical Training Objective OFV1 called "Handling tissues and biobanking to produce advanced therapy products" within the project "Creation of a multi-regional infrastructure (Italian Regenerative Medicine Infrastructure, IRMI) for the development of advanced therapies aimed at the regeneration of organs and tissues", Ministry of Education, University and Research for the Development and enhancement of national technological clusters, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute (ALiSEI Cluster)
2021/2022 ‘Applied Biology - Biomedical Sciences II (Integrated Course)’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Orthopedic Techniques, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2021/2022 ‘Biotechnologies for orthopaedic applications’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2021/2022 ‘Information processing systems - Healthcare Management (Integrated Course)’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Podiatry, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2022/2023 ‘Applied Biology - Biomedical Sciences II (Integrated Course)’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Orthopedic Techniques, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2022/2023 ‘Information processing systems - Healthcare Management (Integrated Course)’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Podiatry, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2023/2024 ‘Bone pathophysiology - module 1' for the Bachelor's Degree in Motor and Sports Activities Sciences, University of Bologna
2023/2024 ‘Nutrition and Bone Health - module 1' for the Bachelor's Degree in Human Nutrition, Wellness and Health
2023/2024 ‘Information processing systems - Healthcare Management (Integrated Course)’ for the Bachelor's Degree in Podiatry, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Bologna
2023/2024 ‘Data processing in laboratories and research protocols (module 2) - Quality system in the laboratory and management of experimental protocols' for the Bachelor's Degree in Health Biology, University of Bologna.
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES (updated as of November 22, 2023)
97 scientific articles published on Pubmed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=avnet-s ) and 3 on Scopus
3 book chapters
123 conference presentations
18 invited lectures
H index (from Scopus): 36
Total citations (from Scopus): 4223
Average IF over the past 5 years: 8.2
Total IF: 619.1
Research Contracts
Jun 1-Nov 30, 2000 Research contractor, Laboratory of Pathophysiology of Orthopedic Implants (Biotechnologist), Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute
Dec 1, 2000-Nov 30, 2001 Research contractor, Laboratory of Pathophysiology of Orthopedic Implants (Biotechnologist), Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute
Jun 1, 2001- May 30, 2002 Research contractor, Laboratory of Pathophysiology of Orthopedic Implants (Biotechnologist), Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute
Jun 1-19, 2002 Research contractor, Laboratory of Pathophysiology of Orthopedic Implants (Biotechnologist), Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute
Jun 20, 2002 – Jun 19, 2003 Fellow, Laboratory of Pathophysiology of Orthopedic Implants (Biotechnologist), Spinner Consortium
Dec 22, 2003 – Dec 21, 2005 Research fellow, Laboratory of Orthopedic Pathophysiology, University of Bologna, Department of Human Anatomical Sciences and Physiopathology of the Locomotor System
Dec 22, 2005 – Dec 21, 2006 Research fellow, Laboratory of Orthopedic Pathophysiology, University of Bologna, Department of Human Anatomical Sciences and Physiopathology of the Locomotor System
Dec 21, 2006 – Dec 21, 2007 Research fellow, Laboratory of Orthopedic Pathophysiology, University of Bologna, Department of Human Anatomical Sciences and Physiopathology of the Locomotor System
Dec 22, 2007 – Dec 21, 2008 Research fellow, Laboratory of Orthopedic Pathophysiology, University of Bologna, Department of Human Anatomical Sciences and Physiopathology of the Locomotor System
Dec 29, 2008 – Nov 10, 2020 Collaborator Biotechnologist, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Laboratory of Orthopedic Pathophysiology and Regenerative Medicine
Nov 11, 2020 – present Fixed-term researcher type a), Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna
Research Projects
Principal investigator "Study of the action of natural Interferon alpha in the treatment of osteolytic metastases" (Call for access to the benefits provided by the global grant Spinner, Emilia Romagna Region, European Social Fund, Spinner, and Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, 2002)
Collaborator "Molecular mechanisms of bone metastatic osteolysis", funded by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (2000-2003)
Collaborator “Identification of molecular targets for the treatment of bone metastases“, funded by the Ministry of Health (2002-2004)
Collaborator “Intelligent nanocomposites for bone tissue repair and regeneration (NANOBIOCOM)”, funded by the European Commission (2003-2005)
Collaborator “Injectable macroporous biomaterial based on calcium phosphate cement for bone regeneration (SmartCaP)”, funded by the European Commission (2002-2005)
Collaborator “Identification of gene expression profiles associated with tumor progression in solid tumor of childhood”, funded by the Ministry of Health (2003-2005)
Collaborator “Targeting skeletal metastases by nanoscale multifunctional bone-seeking agents”, funded by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (2006-2008)
Collaborator “In vitro biological evaluation of bisphosphonate-based bioactive molecules, synthesized through innovative catalytic strategies, for the diagnosis and therapy of osteolytic diseases”, funded by the Ministry of University and Research (2010-2012)
Collaborator “Cancer stem cells: signal transduction pathways as therapeutic targets”, funded by the Ministry of University and Research (2011-2015)
Collaborator “Use of biomarkers and gene expression profiles to identify cancer patients with different prognosis and sensitivity to molecular targeted agents”, funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region (2013-2015)
Principal Investigator “Photodynamic therapy and proton pump inhibitors for the treatment of pain in patients with bone metastases”, funded by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (My First AIRC grant, 2014-2016)
Collaborator “Targeting tumor-stroma interaction in sarcoma microenvironment to inhibit the development of metastases”, funded by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (2015-2018)
Collaborator “Acidic microenvironment as a target for cancera-ssociated bone pain (ACIDinCIBP)”, ERANET-Lac project funded by the European Commission and the Ministry of Health (2018-2020)
Collaborator “Altered lipid metabolism as a stress reaction to acid tumour microenvironment and a driver of metastasis in osteosarcoma”, funded by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (2019-2023).
Co-principal investigator (Co-PI) “Gut microbiota profile and immune status in osteosarcoma: towards the development of personalized treatments”, R.F: 2019, funded by the Ministry of Health (2021-2023)
Principal Investigator “Citrate-mediated metabolic coupling: a target for advanced PROstate cancer in BONE (PROBONE)”, funded by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC IG grant, 2022-2026)
Principal Investigator “Development of a bone-on-a-chip system to study pharmacodynamics and prevent the therapeutic efficacy of anti-osteoporotic drugs”, funded by the Ministry of Health (research and development projects, through experimental technologies, of alternative methods to the animal model assigned to the University of Bologna, 2022).
Awards and Honors
Mar 2002 Award, “Frontiers of Skeletal Biology”, Davos, CH
Nov 2002 Young Investigator Award, Annual Meeting of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society, Dallas, USA
May 2003 European Calcified Tissue Society Exchange Scholarship Grant
Jul 2003 Marco Polo Award, University of Bologna (I)
Jul 2006 BIOLOX Award 2006, 11th BIOLOX Symposium, Rome (I)
Oct 2012 Young Investigator Award, “International Society for Proton Dynamics in Cancer”
Patents
Feb 26, 2020 Patent application for industrial invention in Italy no. 102020000004015, title: "Training system for feeding a fluid into a microchamber of a microfluidic device". Inventors: Sofia Avnet, Nicola Baldini, Francesco Costa
