Education
He graduated with honors in Biological Sciences in 1991 from the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and received his PhD in Experimental Pathology from the University of Bologna in 1999.
Visiting professor at the Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA from March to April 1997.
Visiting professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from September to December 2002.
Academic career
Researcher in General Pathology discipline (MED/04) since 2005, at the School of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Bologna, affiliated with the Department of Experimental Pathology. Since October 15, 2014, he has been appointed as associate professor at the University of Bologna in the former Department of Experimental, Specialty, and Diagnostic Medicine (DIMES), now Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC).
Teaching Activities
Since 2005, he has been teaching various courses for undergraduate and graduate programs at the School of Medicine and Surgery and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.
He currently teaches the following courses at the University of Bologna: Immunology for Medicine and Surgery Degree Program (Channel B); Immunology (C.I. Basic Mechanisms of Diseases) and Biology of Aging (C.I. Geriatrics and Frailty) for Medicine & Surgery Degree Program; General Pathology and Immunology for Nursing Degree Program at the University of Bologna (Ravenna Campus); Elective courses: Advanced Immunology for Master's Degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.
Scientific Activity
Author of over 170 scientific articles and reviews in international peer-reviewed scientific journals, which have received over 14,000 citations. H-index: 62 according to WoS Clarivate, 66 according to Scopus, 77 according to Google Scholar.He has participated in numerous local, national, and international research programs, including:European Union (EU) Projects:
• Nu-Age New dietary strategies addressing the specific needs of the elderly population for healthy aging in Europe 1. (FP7, grant number 266486, dates: 01/05/2011-30/04/2016) Coordinator: Prof. Franceschi.
• IDEAL Integrated research on Developmental determinants of Aging and Longevity (FP7, grant no. 259679, dates: 01/03/2011-29/02/2016) Partner and WP leader: Prof. Franceschi.
• MISSION T2D Multiscale Immune System Simulator for the ONset of Type 2 Diabetes integrating genetic, metabolic and nutritional data (FP7, grant number: 600803, date: 01/03/2013- 30/04/2016) Partner Prof. Franceschi.
• COBRA Co-morbidity in Relation to AIDS (FP7, grant number 305522, date: 01/03/2013 – 28/02/2017) Partner Prof. Franceschi
• MyNewGut Factors influencing the human gut microbiome and its effect on the development of diet-related diseases and brain development (FP7 grant agreement n. 613979, date: 01/03/2014-28/02/2019) Partner Prof. Patrizia Brigidi, Fabit.
• PNRR PE8: Age-it - A novel public-private alliance to generate socioeconomic, biomedical, and technological solutions for an inclusive Italian aging society - (01/01/2023 - 31/12/2025). Leader of WP3 of Spoke 3.
Other Projects
PRIN 2006 Research Project "Role of the Trp53 codon 72 polymorphism on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage repair activity: effects on aging and longevity in humans" (coordinator);
MiUR National Agrifood Cluster Project PROS.IT Promotion of Consumer Health: Nutritional Enhancement of Traditional Italian Agri-Food Products (expected deadline August 2016) (Partner Prof. Patrizia Brigidi, Fabit).
Strategic Project of the University of Bologna entitled: "p53 and Non-Neoplastic Pathologies in the Elderly: A Multidisciplinary Study on the Role of the Polymorphism at Codon 72 of the TP53 Gene" (July 17, 2007-July 16, 2011).
University of Bologna FARB Project: BATMAN Beyond Animal Testing: A Multi-Active Nanostructured Device Mimicking In Vivo Microenvironments (February 1, 2014–July 31, 2016)
PRIN 2022 Research Project “GDF15 as a key player and a potential target to tackle aging and age-associated diseases: an in silico, in vitro, and ex vivo study” (national coordinator).
Institutional Activities, Academic Appointments, and Other Activities
Vice Director of the Luigi Galvani Interdepartmental Center for Bioinformatics, Biophysics, and Biocomplexity Studies at the University of Bologna from 2014 to 2017.
Member of the Alma Mater Research Institute on Global Challenges and Climate Change - Alma Climate [https://centri.unibo.it/climate/en].
Member of the Teaching Staff of the PhD Program in Oncology, Hematology, and Pathology.
Member of the Editorial Board of the journal "Biogerontology" (Springer).
Associate Editor of the journal "Frontiers in Endocrinology".
Associate Editor of the journal "Ageing Research Reviews" (Elsevier) from 2017 to 2023.
Affiliated with the IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, IBT platform (Immunobiology of Transplantation), Annex A3.
Member of the Alma.Aging Center for studies on aging (https://site.unibo.it/alma-aging/it).
