Associate Professor

I graduated with highest honors in Medical Biotechnology at the University of Florence in 2008 and obtained a PhD in Biochemistry and Applied Biology in 2012, focusing on the cytotoxic effects of aberrant protein oligomers in protein deposition diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In 2016, I earned a Specialization Degree in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Roma Tor Vergata, and in 2018 I achieved the National Academic Qualification as Associate Professor (05/E1, Fascia II). In 2022, I was appointed Assistant Professor (RTD-B) in Biochemistry (SSD BIO/10), and in 2025 I became Associate Professor in Biochemistry (SSD BIOS-07/A).
I have authored more than 60 international publications (JCR), cited over 4000 times (h-index 34). My research interests focus on the structure–toxicity relationships of protein aggregates in misfolding diseases, with the aim of identifying new therapeutic strategies, biomarkers and drug candidates for neurodegenerative disorders.
Teaching activities include lectures at the University of Florence for Biochemistry (Corso di laurea in Infermieristica, Corso di Laurea in Tecniche Ortopediche, Corso di laurea in Tecniche di Laboratorio Biomedico). I supervise Master’s theses, Erasmus students, PhD projects in Biomedical Sciences, and research fellows supported by competitive grants (Airalzh AGYR2020, MUR PRIN2022, PRIN2022PNRR).
I am reviewer for Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, Life, Free Radical Research, Neural Regeneration Research, and Scientific Reports, and serve as Associate Editor for Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity and Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. I have presented my research at national and international conferences as invited speaker.
I am a member of the Italian Society of Biochemistry (SIB) and board member of the Tuscany-Umbria-Marche (TUM) Section.