Dr. Sabarinathan Rangasamy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at PSG College of Technology, India. He received his Ph.D. from Seoul National University, South Korea, and later conducted postdoctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Barbara Ventura at the Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council (CNR), Bologna, Italy, supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fellowship. His research focuses on the development of porphyrin-based photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy, with particular interest in subcellular targeting, singlet oxygen generation, and heterocyclic modifications. His broader interests include porphyrin related photosensitizers for PDT and medicinal applications.
Giuseppina Bozzuto is a researcher at the National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome. She graduated in Biology Applied to Biomedical Research and obtained a PhD in Experimental Medicine from Sapienza University of Rome. Her research focuses on the relationship between the ultrastructural characteristics and biological behavior of lipid-based nanodevices, with particular attention to their intracellular fate and drug delivery efficiency. She also investigates tumor cell invasion strategies and the mechanisms underlying multidrug resistance, tumor aggressiveness, and invasiveness. Furthermore, she studies the chemosensitizing activity of natural compounds through in vitro studies aimed at improving anticancer therapies.
Sofia Migani is a second-year PhD student in “Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biotechnology” at the University of Camerino and at the National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome. She graduated from the Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology program at Sapienza University of Rome. Her PhD research topic centers on the design, the synthesis, and the biological evaluation of ligand and related Cu(I) and Cu(II) complexes, alone or conjugated with liposomes, as potential excellent candidates to substitute platinum-based chemotherapeutics.
Annarica Calcabrini is a senior researcher at the National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome). She graduated in Biology Sciences (Sapienza University of Rome) and obtained a PhD in Biotechnologies (University of L’Aquila). Expertise: in vitro studies of the mechanism of action of natural and synthetic compounds (both free and nanocarrier-encapsulated) and the analysis of drug resistance mechanisms (expression, localization, and activity of drug transporter proteins) on human tumor cell lines. Experimental approaches: two- and three-dimensional cell cultures, proliferation, cytotoxicity, migration, and invasion assays.
Simona Sennato is a Senior Research Scientist at the Italian National Research Council, Institute for Complex Systems (ISC-CNR). She graduated with a master's degree in Physics and received a PhD in Physics from Sapienza University of Rome. Her research activity in focused on soft matter physics, biological physics, and chemical physics, with a focus on soft colloids of lipid or polymeric nature, as well as their self-assembly, interaction and aggregation with charged macromolecules. She is an expert in the physico-chemical characterization of soft colloids for application to drug delivery.
Lucia Maini is a full professor of chemistry at the "G. Ciamician" Department of Chemistry at the University of Bologna, where she also earned her PhD. With a strong foundation in structure determination through single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, she specializes in solid-state characterization and crystal engineering. Her work spans polymorphs, co-crystals, coordination
polymers, and organic materials. A committed promoter of mechanochemistry, she combines modern science with history by
collaborating with historians to recreate ancient recipes. She is active in science communication, organizing outreach and educational activities for schools, the public, and international cooperation projects.
Frédéric Bolze received his Ph.D. from the University of Sherbrooke (Canada) and Dr. from the University of Burgundy (France). After a post-doctoral position at UT Austin (USA) in the group of JL Sessler, he was appointed assistant at the University of Strasbourg (France) in 2002. He is now associate professor at the faculty of chemistry of the university of Strasbourg. His research interests mainly focus on the biological application of non-linear optical chromophores and fluorophores for biological applications.
Cecilia Bombelli is a first-level Research Scientist at the Italian National Research Council, Institute for Biological Systems (ISB-CNR). She graduated with a master's degree in Chemistry and received a PhD in Chemical Sciences from Sapienza University of Rome. She deepened interdisciplinary aspects related to drug delivery through a second-level Master's Degree in "Methodologies for research and development of new therapies" of the II Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of Sapienza University. Her scientific interests concern the study of polymolecular aggregates, such as micelles and liposomes, investigated as bio-membrane models and as drug delivery systems. She is expert in the design, preparation, and physico-chemical characterization of liposomes for the delivery of drugs, natural compounds, and genetic material for the development of new antibacterial and anticancer therapies.
Barbara Ventura is Research Director at the Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) in Bologna. She received an MS degree in Chemistry and received a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Bologna. Her research activity deals with the characterization of luminescent organic and inorganic materials, the study of photo-induced energy and electron transfer processes in arrays containing organic and/or inorganic units, the study of photoactive host–guest and supramolecular systems, and the characterization of photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy. She is experienced in steady-state and time-resolved electronic spectroscopy and in ultrafast optical techniques (femtosecond pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy, ultrafast luminescence detection). She has been and is currently involved in several national and international projects, among which four H2020-MSCA projects as coordinator or principal investigator. She holds a wide collaboration network with renowned scientists working in materials and biomedical science.
