Paola ALBANESE is a Junior Researcher in Physical Chemistry at the University of Siena (Italy), where she focuses on building artificial cells for medical and environmental applications. She received her PhD in Chemical and Molecular Sciences from the University of Bari (Italy). During her PhD she successfully constructed energetically autonomous artificial cells which convert light energy into chemical energy (ATP) to fuel internalized metabolic pathways. Currently, she is developing stimuli-responsive artificial cells for targeted drug and gene delivery. She created a prototype liposome-based drug carrier with membrane permeability and cargo release finely tuned with light. Soon, she will investigate membrane responsiveness to redox environments and chemical stimuli, aiming to optimize these systems into nanosized liposomes for therapeutic applications.
Paola received the prestigious Cozzarelli Prize in 2021 (National Academy of Sciences USA) and the Italian Young Researcher Award in 2023 (Gruppo 2003). She is member of the Italian Society of Chemistry for the physical chemistry division.
Francesca CARDANO
Research fellow (RTD-A) in organic chemistry at the Università di Torino, focused on the synthesis and investigations of fluorescent, chromophoric and photochromic small molecules for chemical biology purposes. Master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies and PhD in Chemistry and Material Science (2020) at the University of Genova in affiliation with IIT and University of Miami. Post doc fellows at University of Torino and Milano (2019-2022) and since 2023 regular Visiting Researcher at University of Groningen.
Luca CONSENTINO got his Master's Degree in Materials Chemistry at the University of Palermo in 2020. He started to work at the CNR-ISMN Palermo in October 2020 with a two years research grant on "Development and study of NH3-SCR catalysts to overcome the NOx emitted by marine engines" and acquiring a good expertise in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. He is currently a PhD student (co-funded studentship by the Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials - CNR of Palermo and University of Palermo) and his research interests are focused on the development of catalysts for the abatement and valorisation of air pollutants like nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxides.
Sara FULIGNATI obtained her PhD with honors in Chemical and Material Sciences from the University of Pisa in 2019, during which she conducted a research period at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands). From 2019 to 2023, she was a Research Fellow at the University of Pisa, where, since May 2023, she has been an Assistant Professor (RTD-A) in Industrial Chemistry. Her research activity is focused on the fractionation and catalytic valorization of waste biomasses and their derivatives to obtain compounds of industrial relevance, also through the use of innovative heating systems. In recent years, her research has also focused on the hydrothermal carbonization of biomasses and the valorization of lignin.
Tommaso GIOVANNINI graduated in Chemistry at the University of Pisa and obtained the Diploma in Chemistry at the Scuola Normale Superiore in 2015. In 2019, he received his PhD (with honors) in Methods and Models for Molecular Sciences from the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa). After two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway (2019-2021), he worked as a Junior Assistant Professor (fixed-term) in Physical Chemistry at the Scuola Normale Superiore (2021-2024). Since June 2024, he has been an Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) in Theoretical Matter Physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. His research focuses on the development of multiscale methods and models for the theoretical and computational description of complex systems, from molecular systems in the liquid phase to metallic or graphene-based nanostructures. He received the Philip J. Stephens Award in 2018 (VOA International Steering Committee), the Young Physical Chemist Award in 2022 (Division of Physical Chemistry SCI), and was named CAS Future Leader Top 100 in 2024 (CAS Division of the American Chemical Society).
Daniele MAZZARELLA studied chemistry at the universities of Rome and Bologna (Italy). After a brief experience in Japan working for Nippon Kayaku Co. Ltd, in 2016, Daniele joined Prof. Paolo Melchiorre's group at the ICIQ (Tarragona, Spain) as a Marie Curie funded PhD student. He was then awarded a postdoctoral Marie Curie Individual Fellowship to continue his research in the laboratory of Prof. Timothy Noël at the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Since November 2022, Daniele holds the position of assistant professor at the University of Padova (Italy), contributing to the development of novel asymmetric electrochemical and photochemical transformations.
Nicola MIROTTA is a nanotechnology engineering with a PhD in advanced materials for aerospace. In the last 10 years I worked in graphene related research. Initially in the University of Rome La Sapienza, then as visitor researcher at University of Copenaghen (DTU) and after as research scientist at national research council where I carried out my PhD in chemistry and nanotechnology application, I have done experience also in a private sector: Pentachem srl, IBM italiano and graphene-XT as open innovation manager. Always in a multicultural environment. I'm completing a Master in Business Administration held at LUISS busines school University in Rome. From my first days in the labs to now in the research field, my obsession has always been to leverage the corporate's and people's capabilities in order to serve users, fight cultural and operational barriers.
Roberto NISTICÒ (RN) is Fixed-Time Researcher (RTD-b) at the University of Milano-Bicocca (Department of Materials Science) in General and Inorganic Chemistry. The research activity of RN mainly focuses on several aspects at the interface between inorganic chemistry and materials science, always looking for novel and appealing solutions for a sustainable future. The principal field of interest is the development of nanostructured (eventually magnetic) metal oxides for the remediation of contaminated (waste)water, (photo)catalysis, energy applications, as well as the development functional nanocomposites. RN received several prizes, such as: the “Premio Gian Giacomo Drago e Fausta Rivera Drago (2023 edition)” provided by the Istituto Lombardo Accademia di Scienze e Lettere (Italy), and the 2nd prize of the "Premio Giovani Talenti (2022 edition)" Young Talents Award of the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy) with the sponsorship of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Italy).
Emilia PAONE is a fixed-term researcher (RTD-B) at the Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria. In 2015, she obtained her Master’s degree in Chemistry at the the Università degli Studi di Messina, and in the same year, she stared her Ph.D. in Civil, Environmental, and Safety Engineering at the Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, receiving the title in April 2019. Her research activity lies in the field of heterogeneous catalysis for the sustainable valorization of waste and residues for the production of high value-added products.
Giacomo TRAPASSO obtained his PhD degree cum laude at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy) in Environmental Sciences in March 2024, in collaboration with the Institute on Membrane Technology (ITM-CNR) and the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence (GCCE) of York University (UK). At the moment he is working as a research fellow at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, focusing on sustainable organic synthesis of bio-based platform chemicals and green solvents applicable for biopolymer production. He recently received the "Cinzia Chiappe" prize for the best PhD thesis in sustainable chemistry (2024 edition) from the Italian Chemical Society.
