CURRENT POSITION:
Associate Professor, Scientific Disciplinary Sector MEDS-09/A, Medical Oncology, Department of Translational Medicine and for the Romagna, University of Ferrara.
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
- 15/12/1992: MD degree,, University of Ferrara
- Session I 1993: Qualification for the practice of medicine, University of Ferrara
- 10/1997: Specialization in Pathological Anatomy
- 10/2005: Specialization in Oncology
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Professor in the following courses:
- Bioinformatics and Molecular Oncology, Master’s Degree in Biotechnology for Translational Medicine (LM-9), University of Ferrara
- Innovation and Digitalization in Oncology, Integrated 6-year Master’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery (LM-41), University of Ferrara
MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
- Member of the Medical Oncology Specialization School, University of Ferrara
- Member of the Italian Melanoma Intergroup (IMI)
- Member of the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Medicine (Oncology Section)
- Associate Editor of the “Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy” section for the journals Frontiers in Oncology and Frontiers in Immunology
- Guest Editor of the volume “Novel Clinical and Translational Insights in Cell Therapies for Cancer,” published by Frontiers in Immunology, 2024
- Reviewer of scientific and research projects for national and international bodies (Institutional Research 2018 of the National Cancer Institute of Milan
- member of the Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC) for the TRANSCAN-3 JTC2021 research program, funded by the European Commission under H2020)
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Publications: 82 articles in international scientific journals; H-index = 31; Citations: 10,560 (as of 27 January 2025, Scopus).
Over 50 presentations at national and international conferences as posters or oral communications.
Patent: “Idiotypic vaccine” – registered in Italy and Europe (U.I.M.B. Application No. MI2007A 001522; www.uimb.gov.it)
2012: Visiting fellow at the Infectious Diseases and Immunogenetics Section of the Department of Transfusion Medicine, NIH, Bethesda (MD), USA
MAIN RESEARCH PROJECTS
- Principal Investigator of the project that won the “Merck Investigator Studies Program” call (competitive call): “Pembrolizumab plus autologous dendritic cell vaccine in patients with PD-L1 negative mesothelioma who have failed prior therapies.” Funded budget: €79,700
- Scientific Director for “Ancillary studies on blood biomarkers – SECOMBIT trial.” Funded budget: €200,000
- Principal Investigator and Coordinating Proposer for the Joint Transnational Call for Proposals 2014 (JTC 2014 European Program) with the project “Dissecting phenotypic heterogeneity of human melanoma: building a rationale for active immunotherapies overcoming immunologically-induced dedifferentiation.” Funded budget: €220,000 (Total consortium funding: €884,500)
- 2023: Project PNRR-TR1-2023-12378111 “Longitudinal monItoring For the Earliest and BEst management for pLeural mesoThelioma (LIFEBELT),” with a two-year duration. Role in the project: Collaborator (Funding: €1 million)
MAIN RESEARCH AREAS
- Clinical research in oncology, with a particular focus on immunotherapy and melanoma (Principal Investigator of several phase I–III clinical studies)
- Characterization of the tumor microenvironment in melanoma and other solid and hematologic tumors
- Characterization of tumor heterogeneity in melanoma
- Development of artificial intelligence models for the identification of “digital biomarkers” for diagnostic and prognostic applications in melanoma
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS FOR SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY
- “Francesco Baracca - Città di Lugo” Award, 2013 edition
- Since 30 May 2023, member of the Technical-Scientific Committee of COMT (Centre for Molecular and Translational Oncology), University of Parma
Associate Professor, Scientific Disciplinary Sector MEDS-09/A, Medical Oncology, Department of Translational Medicine and for the Romagna, University of Ferrara.
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
- 15/12/1992: MD degree,, University of Ferrara
- Session I 1993: Qualification for the practice of medicine, University of Ferrara
- 10/1997: Specialization in Pathological Anatomy
- 10/2005: Specialization in Oncology
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Professor in the following courses:
- Bioinformatics and Molecular Oncology, Master’s Degree in Biotechnology for Translational Medicine (LM-9), University of Ferrara
- Innovation and Digitalization in Oncology, Integrated 6-year Master’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery (LM-41), University of Ferrara
MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
- Member of the Medical Oncology Specialization School, University of Ferrara
- Member of the Italian Melanoma Intergroup (IMI)
- Member of the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Medicine (Oncology Section)
- Associate Editor of the “Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy” section for the journals Frontiers in Oncology and Frontiers in Immunology
- Guest Editor of the volume “Novel Clinical and Translational Insights in Cell Therapies for Cancer,” published by Frontiers in Immunology, 2024
- Reviewer of scientific and research projects for national and international bodies (Institutional Research 2018 of the National Cancer Institute of Milan
- member of the Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC) for the TRANSCAN-3 JTC2021 research program, funded by the European Commission under H2020)
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Publications: 82 articles in international scientific journals; H-index = 31; Citations: 10,560 (as of 27 January 2025, Scopus).
Over 50 presentations at national and international conferences as posters or oral communications.
Patent: “Idiotypic vaccine” – registered in Italy and Europe (U.I.M.B. Application No. MI2007A 001522; www.uimb.gov.it)
2012: Visiting fellow at the Infectious Diseases and Immunogenetics Section of the Department of Transfusion Medicine, NIH, Bethesda (MD), USA
MAIN RESEARCH PROJECTS
- Principal Investigator of the project that won the “Merck Investigator Studies Program” call (competitive call): “Pembrolizumab plus autologous dendritic cell vaccine in patients with PD-L1 negative mesothelioma who have failed prior therapies.” Funded budget: €79,700
- Scientific Director for “Ancillary studies on blood biomarkers – SECOMBIT trial.” Funded budget: €200,000
- Principal Investigator and Coordinating Proposer for the Joint Transnational Call for Proposals 2014 (JTC 2014 European Program) with the project “Dissecting phenotypic heterogeneity of human melanoma: building a rationale for active immunotherapies overcoming immunologically-induced dedifferentiation.” Funded budget: €220,000 (Total consortium funding: €884,500)
- 2023: Project PNRR-TR1-2023-12378111 “Longitudinal monItoring For the Earliest and BEst management for pLeural mesoThelioma (LIFEBELT),” with a two-year duration. Role in the project: Collaborator (Funding: €1 million)
MAIN RESEARCH AREAS
- Clinical research in oncology, with a particular focus on immunotherapy and melanoma (Principal Investigator of several phase I–III clinical studies)
- Characterization of the tumor microenvironment in melanoma and other solid and hematologic tumors
- Characterization of tumor heterogeneity in melanoma
- Development of artificial intelligence models for the identification of “digital biomarkers” for diagnostic and prognostic applications in melanoma
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS FOR SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY
- “Francesco Baracca - Città di Lugo” Award, 2013 edition
- Since 30 May 2023, member of the Technical-Scientific Committee of COMT (Centre for Molecular and Translational Oncology), University of Parma
