6-07-1998, Degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology (108/110) at the University of Parma
27-01-2003, PhD award in “Experimental pharmacology and toxicology” with a thesis on “Pharmacological control of inflammatory processes and aggregation mechanisms”
November 1998 – November 2002, PhD student.
February 2001 – January 2005, research collaborator at the university of Parma.
February 2002 – November 2002, visiting scientist at the “Dep. of Oncology and Hematology” at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia under the supervision of the professor Brass LF. January
2005 – October 2015, researcher at the University of Parma and lecturer of Pharmacognosy.
October 2015 - today, associate professor of pahrmacology and lecturer of pharmacognosy and pharmacology at the Food and Drug Department
I started my scientific career, during the thesis period, working on classical pharmacological on isolated organs and through binding techniques. Furthermore, I set up tests for the study of haemostasis addressing my interests towards platelet aggregation and issues related to thromboembolic diseases. During the doctorate I increased the number of experimental models available in the laboratory, in vitro and in vivo, to study new anti-aggregation or antithrombotic compounds. To expand my knowledge in this field I spent almost a year at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where I had the opportunity to learn about the ephrin and ephrin kinase system: a large family of tyrosine kinases also expressed on platelets by participating in their functional characterization. During this time, I had the opportunity to expand my technical knowledge thanks to experiences in molecular biology and flow cytometry. Back from the United States, thanks to the support of the Italian Cancer Research Association (AIRC), I had the opportunity to develop an autonomous research line (2010) for the discovery of potential ligands of the ephrin system in the development of anticancer drugs, identifying the first small molecule capable of interfering with the interaction between Eph kinases and their physiological ligands. This discovery allowed us to obtain further support (FIRB and AIRC IG funds) for the development of the identified compound with the aim of obtaining more powerful, soluble and bioavailable molecules. The success of the research has allowed to patent the new compounds that are currently also commercially available as a comparison standard for other research laboratories.
