Education
1998 MSc in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, University of Parma
2002 PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, University of Pavia
Professional career
2001-2012 Researcher, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Parma, Italy
2001 Visiting research fellow, Institut de Chimie Thérapeutique, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, in the research group directed by Prof. Bernard Testa
2004 Visiting research fellow, CNR-Institute of Molecular Sciences and Technologies (CNR-ISTM), Padua, Italy, in the research group directed by Dr. Piero Traldi
2007 Visiting research fellow, Department of Pharmacology, University of California Irvine (UCI), Irvine, CA, USA, in the research group directed by Prof. Daniele Piomelli
2012-present Associate Professor, Food and Drug Department, University of Parma, Italy
Main research interests
Study of structure-activity (SAR) and structure-property (SPR) relationships on pharmacologically active compounds with a particular focus on the investigation of physico-chemical (ionization, lipophilicity, solubility) and in vitro ADME profiles for the in vivo pharmacokinetic optimization of lead candidates. Drug metabolite identification and characterization of covalent drug-protein conjugates by high resolution liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS).
Research Areas: modulators of endocannabinoid- and fatty acid ethanolamide-mediated signaling, with particular focus on small molecule inhibitors of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH), Monoacylglycerolipase (MGL) and N-acylethanolamine acid amidase (NAAA), as novel antinflammatory, anti-neurodegenerative and anti-depressive-like agents.
Anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenetic agents with particular focus on the characterization of novel covalent inhibitors of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and to the characterization, SPR and in vivo PK investigation of non-peptide small molecule antagonists of the Eph-ephrin system, as novel anticancer therapeutics.
