Thomas Lee Moore
Thomas received his PhD in Bioengineering from Clemson University (Clemson, SC, USA) in 2013. His research was focused on developing theranostic nanomedicines for the treatment of cancer. Following his doctorate, he joined the BioNanomaterials group at the Adolphe Merkle Institute (Fribourg, Switzerland) as a postdoctoral researcher. There he studied the fundamental structure-function interactions of nanoparticles with biological system.
Currently, he is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND MINDED Researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology where he works on engineering cells to transport particles across the blood-brain barrier, in particular to treat neurodevelopmental disorders. He is interested in how particle drug delivery vehicles can be used to transport therapeutics across biological barriers, and he is studying this in both microfluidic in vitro models and in vivo.
Enrica Chiesa
Enrica obtained her PhD in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2017 from the University of Pavia developing versatile nanoplatforms to deliver drugs for pediatric patients. During her PhD, she joined as Erasmus Traineeships student, the research group of Prof. Yvonne Perrie (Aston University, Birmingham (UK)) working on the microfluidic technology for lipid- and polymer-based nanoparticles preparation. In 2016 she worked as external consultant for Schaefer South-east Europe s.r.l, Italian dealer of Precision Nanosystem.
Her current research focuses on the development of a microfluidic-based process enabling programmable assembly of polysaccharide nanoparticles and liposomes as smart drug delivery systems. Erica is interested in polymer chemical functionalization to improve the particles selectivity against cancer stem cells.
Ilaria Andreana
Ilaria received her MSc in Pharmaceutical chemistry and Technology from the University of Turin in 2016. During her MSc, she spent six months in the laboratory of Prof. Fattal at the Institut Galien Paris-Sud. She obtained her PhD in Pharmaceutical and Biomolecular Sciences in 2022 from the University of Turin and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 by developing biocompatible nanosystems for innovative applications of small therapeutic molecules.
Ilaria is currently a post-doc at the University of Turin. Her research focuses on the formulation of liposomes decorated with hyaluronic acid for inhalation treatment.
Silvia Pisani
Silvia obtained her M.S. Degree in Pharmacy and her PhD in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Pavia. She was a Research Assistant at Nanomedicine/EUNCL Laboratory Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI) / Department of Clinical Medicine (Supervisor: Prof. Adriele Prina-Mello), and a Visiting PhD student at Harvard - John A. Paulson –School of Engineering and Applied Science, Cambridge, USA (Supervisor: Prof. Kevin Kit Parker).
Silvia is currently a Post-doc at the IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia. Her research focuses on design, development and characterization of drug delivery systems and engineered scaffolds using Electrospinning, 3D-Bioprinting and High Efficiency Vibrational Technology for regenerative medicine purposes. Currently she is involved in a project aimed at developing a tubular cellularized scaffold for esophageal regeneration: from manufacturing to preclinical in vivo evaluation.
Giorgia Ailuno
Giorgia graduated in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology at the University of Genoa in 2017 with 110 out of 110 cum laude, presenting an experimental thesis in pharmaceutical chemistry concerning the synthesis of pyrazole compounds for Alzheimer’s disease treatment. She started her PhD at the University of Genoa in 2017, and she is currently working on the development of three-step pretargeting system, based on biotin/avidin affinity, that may be exploited for both diagnosis and therapy of inflammatory-based diseases.
Gabriella Costabile
Gabriella obtained her PhD in Pharmaceutical Science in 2016 from the University of Naples Federico II, designing and developing inhalable drug delivery systems. During her PhD, she was a visiting scholar at the Adolphe Merkle Institute (Fribourg, Switzerland) learning how to build 3D cell co-culture systems and studying particle interactions with this lung tissue model. Her first postdoc was at the Ludwig-Maximillian-University (Munich, Germany) studying the efficacy and safety of a novel anti-infective particle formulation in a wax worm in vivo model (Galleria Mellonella). Her current research focuses on the development of lipid polymer nanoparticles for the delivery of siRNA to the central nervous system to treat glioblastoma. Gabriella is interested in optimizing particle formulations and their physico-chemical properties in order to use nasal delivery as a way to bypass the blood-brain barrier.
Ilaria Ottonelli
Ilaria graduated in Medicinal Chemistry in 2018 at the University of Modena, after completing her thesis at the University of Ulm, Germany, at the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology. She completed her PhD in 2023, receiving the double title from both the universities of Modena and Angers, France, where she conducted part of her research in the field of Nanomedicine. Her research is currently focused on the optimization and validation of polymeric, lipidic, and hybrid nanoparticles for the delivery of genetic material (DNA, mRNA, and siRNA) and therapeutic proteins in the field of ocular and metabolic diseases. She is also involved in other research projects regarding the use of nanoparticles for neurodegenerative diseases, brain cancer, and enzyme replacement therapy.
Cristiano Pesce
Cristiano obtained his MSc Degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology in September 2021 at the University of Padua, discussing a thesis focused on the synthesis of polycationic bioconjugates for oligonucleotide delivery.
Currently, he is a PhD student co-tutored by University of Padua and Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa, under the supervision of Prof. Paolo Caliceti and Prof. Paolo Decuzzi. His research focuses on the development of a polymeric biodegradable device (µMESH) for the local release of nanoparticles encapsulating nucleic acids for brain tumour treatment.
Antonietta Greco
Antonietta obtained her Master’s degree, cum laude, in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, at University of Pavia in 2019. Afterwards, she spent 6 months abroad, with Erasmus Traineeship post-graduation project, at I3Bs - Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics of University of Minho, Braga (Portugal). Antonietta obtained her PhD in Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology in 2023 at University School for Advanced Studies (IUSS) Pavia developing versatile polymeric nanoplatforms for drug delivery. During her PhD, she joined as Erasmus Traineeships student, the research group of Prof. Olivia Merkel (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich (Germany)) working on polymeric nanoparticles for nucleic acid and protein delivery.
Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Researcher fellow at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa where she works on nanotechnology and precision medicine studying micrometric and nanometric systems, composed of different materials, for the delivery of several drugs. Antonietta is interested in nucleic acid delivery and genome editing.
Marco Dattilo
Marco graduated in Pharmacy at University of Calabria in 2018. He is currently a PhD student in Life Science and Technology at University of Calabria under the supervision of Prof. Francesco Puoci. During his PhD, he was a visiting student for 16 months in the laboratory of Prof. Börje Sellergren at the University of Malmö (Malmö, Sweden).
His research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of polymeric functional materials for application in pharmaceutical field. In particular, he is currently working on the development of synthetic antibodies using Molecular Imprinting Technology, from bench formulations to clinical application and large-scale production, for the selective recognition of biomarkers and controlled release of anticancer drugs.
Mattia Tiboni
Mattia received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2021 from the University of Urbino Carlo Bo developing 3D printed pharmaceutical solutions. During the PhD period, he joined the group of Prof. Helder Santos at the University of Helsinki working on nanomedicine formulation and microfluidic manufacturing.
Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo. His research is focused on the application of 3D printing technologies in the pharmaceutical field spacing from the direct production of medicines and medical devices, to analytical, and manufacturing devices. Through 3D printing, he develop microfluidic devices for the manufacturing of innovative nanomedicines.
Mariella Rosalia
Mariella graduated in Pharmacy at University of Pavia in 2020 presenting a Master’s thesis on the antibacterial activity of antibiotic functionalized glasses, under the supervision of Prof. Pietro Grisoli. In 2013 and in 2012 she had the opportunity of internships, respectively at the Department of Biotechnology of the University of Insubria in Varese (Italy) and in a Q&C Laboratory at Lanxess GmbH in Krefeld-Uerdingen (Germany). In 2022 she spent 5 months at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), working in the LBCAM research group headed by Prof. Adriele Prina-Mello.
Currently, Mariella is concluding her PhD in Chemical-Pharmaceutical Sciences and Industrial Innovation at University of Pavia, under the supervision of Prof. Bice Conti and Prof. Ida Genta, working on the development of vascular grafts manufactured with bioresorbable materials and suitable for local drug delivery of antibiotics and immunomodulatory molecules.
Erika Maria Tottoli
I earned my Master's Degree in Medical Biotechnologies in 2020 from the University of Pavia. During my Master's program, I developed a novel human ex-vivo skin model to study the early local response of pathological injuries according to the principle of Replacement, Refinement and Reduction. I am enrolled in the PhD program in Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, and Health Technologies at the Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology and Law (University of Pavia) under the supervision of Prof. Rossella Dorati. My research focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of advanced electrospun dressings for the prophylactic treatment of hypertrophic scars in complex wounds, through in-vitro and in-vivo biological analysis of scar process molecular mechenisms. Currently, I am conducting my Ph.D. project at Joanneum Research (Graz, Austria) under the supervision of Professor Petra Kotzbeck, working on a porcine experimental model to study the pathophysiology of hypertrophic scarring and inflammation of complex wounds.
PROJECTS
- Biofiber: Design and development of an advanced medicated electrospun dressing for the prophylactic treatment of hypertrophic scars in complex wounds.
- CuToPro: Cutin from tomato-peel waste: green source for plurality of engineered polymer products. Design and development of biodegradable and biocompatible medical devices based on a polymer derived from the Italian agro-food chain.