Nato ad Arezzo il 2 luglio 1989, mi sono laureato con lode in Chimica e Tecnologia Farmaceutiche presso l'Università degli Studi di Firenze nel 2014. Nel 2018 ho conseguito, sempre presso l'Università di Firenze, il Dottorato di Ricerca cum laude in Area del Farmaco e Trattamenti Innovativi (SSD CHEM-07/A).
Dal 2020 al 2023 ho ricoperto il ruolo di Ricercatore a Tempo Determinato di tipo A (RTD-A) presso il Dipartimento NEUROFARBA. Attualmente sono Ricercatore a Tempo Determinato di tipo B (RTD-B) presso lo stesso dipartimento. La mia attività di ricerca si concentra sulla progettazione e sintesi di composti biologicamente attivi di potenziale interesse farmaceutico, sullo studio in silico dei loro meccanismi d'azione molecolare e su studi di modulazione enzimatica mediante inibitori e attivatori di interesse farmacologico.
EDUCATION
2014–2017 PhD cum laude in Area del Farmaco e Trattamenti Innovativi: Curriculum Scienze Farmaceutiche (Medicinal Chemistry), NEUROFARBA Department, University of Florence - PhD Supervisor: Prof. Paola Gratteri
2008–2014 MSc, 110/110 cum laude in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Pharmacy, University of Florence
CURRENT AND PREVIOUS POSITION
2023–present RTD-b (Assistant Professor, SSD CHIM/08), NEUROFARBA Department, University of Florence, Italy
2020–2023 RTD-a (Assistant Professor, SSD CHIM/08), NEUROFARBA Department, University of Florence, Italy
2017–2020 Postdoctoral research fellowships, Supervisor: Prof. Claudiu T. Supuran, Prof. Paola Gratteri, NEUROFARBA Department, University of Florence
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
2020–present Professor of Medicinal Chemistry (course in English), Advanced molecular sciences, Univ. of Florence
2020–present Professor of Analisi dei Medicinali II, Pharmacy, Univ. of Florence
2020–present Professor of Molecular Modeling in Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacy and Medicinal Chemistry and Technology.
ORGANISATION OF SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS
2017 Organizing committee, “3rd satellite meeting on Carbonic anhydrase”, Montecatini Terme, Italy
2022 Local organizing committee, “The 4th ISFMS: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Druggability of Proteins”, Firenze, Italy.
2023 Chairperson, “12th International conference on Carbonic Anhydrases”, Naples, Italy.
SUPERVISION OF GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
2023-present Supervisor of a postdoctoral fellow
2015–present Supervisor/co-supervisor of >30 MSc students, Scuola di Scienze della Salute Umana and co-supervisor of 2 PhD students, NEUROFARBA Department, Univ. of Florence
LECTURES AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES
INVITED SPEAKER
- Italian/Spanish-Portuguese Joint Meeting in Medicinal Chemistry 2018, Palermo.
- Cost Action CM1407, Meeting dedicated to Early Career Investigators 2019, Brussels, Belgium.
- 3rd HA-CTion meeting, 2021, Sesto Fiorentino, Italia.
- 2nd Drug Discovery Conference, 2022, Riga, Latvia.
- G4ME Perugia, 2024, Perugia, Italia.
Other lectures
- 3rd Satellite Meeting on Carbonic Anhydrase, 2017, Montecatini Terme, Italia.
- 11th International Conference on Carbonic Anhydrases, 2018, Bucharest, Romania.
- 4th Satellite Meeting on Carbonic Anhydrases, 2019, Parma, Italia.
- 39° Congresso Nazionale SIF – Società Italiana di Farmacologia, 2019, Firenze, Italia.
- 12th International conference on Carbonic Anhydrases, 2023, Naples, Italia.
- SYNC2024, 2024, Rome, Italia.
SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION
- 259 research articles/reviews in peer-reviewed journals.
- 14 book chapters.
- Editor of 1 research monograph: “Carbonic Anhydrases: Biochemistry and Pharmacology of an Evergreen Pharmaceutical Target”, Academic Press Publisher, Elsevier, 2019. pp. 560. Paperback ISBN: 9780128164761
- 3 patents and 2 patent applications.
BIBLIOMETRIC INDICATORS
H-index (Scopus, Scholar) 45, 48
Citations (Scopus, Scholar) 6879, 7869
GRANTS
- Principal Investigator: “MuTaG4L”, Prin2022, MIUR (2023-2025).
- Co-Principal Investigator: “CUTESANA” – Bando di Ateneo, UNIFI (2023-2025).
- Member of Local Unit “FISR2019_04819 BacCAD” – FISR (Fondo integrativo speciale per la ricerca), MIUR (2020-2023).
- Member of Local Unit “Targeting di strutture G-quadruplex di acidi nucleici e anidrasi carbonica per lo sviluppo di strategie terapeutiche tumorali multibersaglio” – Bando Fondazione Intesa San Paolo 2021 (2022-2022).
- Member of Local Unit “Springboard for excellence in advanced development of antibacterials” – European Commission, Horizon 2020 (2020-2023).
- Member of Local Unit “β3-adrenoreceptor as progostic marker in Neuroblastoma and Ewing Sarcoma (BETA3TUMPED)” – Bando Salute 2018 Regione Toscana (2020-2023).
- Member of Local Unit: THE (Tuscany Health Ecosystem), Spoke 8 – PNRR (2022-2025).
PRIZES AND AWARDS
2018 Best PhD Prize 2018, Italian Chemical Society, Medicinal Chemistry Division
2020 Best Oral Communication, IV satellite meeting on Carbonic Anhydrases 2019, Parma, Italy
NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC QUALIFICATION
2019 Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale SC: 03/D1-Fascia 2,17/09/2019 - 17/09/2028
La mia attività di ricerca si articola nelle seguenti aree: (i) progettazione in silico di composti biologicamente attivi con potenziale interesse farmaceutico; (ii) sintesi chimica di molecole biologicamente attive; (iii) studio computazionale dei meccanismi d'azione molecolare; (iv) studi in vitro sulla modulazione enzimatica.
Queste attività sono orientate allo sviluppo di nuove piccole molecole per il trattamento di tumori, patologie oculari, infiammazioni, infezioni e malattie neurodegenerative. Il filo conduttore della ricerca è rappresentato dallo sviluppo di modulatori delle anidrasi carboniche e dall'implementazione di innovative strategie di design multi-target.
Legenda
Born in Arezzo on July 2, 1989, I graduated with honors in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology from the University of Florence in 2014. In 2018, I achieved the PhD with honors in Medicinal Chemistry at the same university.
From 2020 to 2023, I held the position of Assistant Professor A (RTD-A) at the NEUROFARBA Department. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor B (RTD-B) in the same department. My research activity focuses on the design and synthesis of biologically active compounds of potential pharmaceutical interest, on the in silico study of their molecular mechanisms of action, and on enzyme modulation studies using inhibitors and activators of pharmacological interest.
My research activity is structured in the following areas: (i) in silico design of biologically active compounds with potential pharmaceutical interest; (ii) synthesis of biologically active molecules; (iii) computational study of molecular mechanisms of action; (iv) in vitro enzyme modulation studies .
These activities are focused on the development of new small molecules for the treatment of tumors, ocular diseases, inflammation, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases. The common thread of the research is represented by the development of carbonic anhydrase modulators and the implementation of innovative multi-target design strategies."
