Personal Information

Fields of Interest and Expertise

Investigation of charge transport by ion pumps using electrical and spectroscopic methods.

Mechanism of interaction between drugs and membrane transporters.

Development of experimental methods for the characterization of biomimetic membranes.

Isolation of native ATPases (sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase and Na,K-ATPase).

Biochemical characterization of ATPases.

Teaching

Lab-assistance for “Laboratorio di Chimica Fisica II” (LT Chimica, Univ. Firenze)

Seminars and lab-assistance for “Modelli Sperimentali di Membrane Biologiche con Laboratorio” (LM Biotecnologie Molecolari, Univ. Firenze)

Curriculum Vitae

1993: Research project for the degree thesis, Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool (England).

1994: Degree in Chemistry at the University of Florence (110 cum laude/110).

1994-1997: PhD in Chemical Sciences at the University of Florence.

1997-1998: Post Doctoral Fellow, Max-Planck-Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt (Germany).

1998: Visiting scientist at the Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw (Poland).

1999-2003: Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of Florence.

2001: Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Padua.

2003-2006: Contract Professor, Faculty of Science, University of Florence.

2006-present: Research Associate (tenure position), Department of Chemistry, University of Florence.

Awards

“Erasmus Free Mover” Fellowship, University of Florence.

Research Fellowship of the Deutscher Akademisher Austauschdienst (D.A.A.D.).

Marie Curie Research Training Grant, TMR Programme, European Community.

• Florence

• A Method to Measure Hydrolytic Activity of Adenosinetriphosphatases (ATPases). PLoS ONE (2013)
• Mimicking the Intramolecular Hydrogen Bond: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Molecular Modeling of Benzoxazines and Quinazolines as Potential Antimalarial Agents. JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY (2012)
• Distinctive Features of Catalytic and Transport Mechanisms in Mammalian Sarco-endoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) and Cu+ (ATP7A/B) ATPases. JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY (2012)
• The Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA1) Is Inhibited by 4-Aminoquinoline Derivatives through Interference with Catalytic Activation by Ca2+, Whereas the ATPase E-2 State Remains Functional. JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY (2011)
• ATP dependent charge movement in ATP7B Cu+-ATPase is demonstrated by pre-steady state electrical measurements. FEBS LETTERS (2010)