Academic Staff
Full professor of Biochemistry
Founder and President of the Scientific Committee of aimAKU – Italian Association of Patients affected by Alkaptonuria.
Coordinator of Life Sciences Macronode of Competence Center ARTES 4.0 Advanced Robotics and enabling digital TEchnologies & Systems 4.0.
Founder and President of the Scientific Committee of SienabioACTIVE, a benefit start-up and Siena University spin-off.
Her research group has a relevant long-term experience in post-genomics, cell biology, protein structure-function relationship, bioinformatics and AI. Their research was mainly focused in elucidating the molecular basis of human diseases with applications also in precision medicine, particularly rare diseases. More recently, her interest focused on bioeconomy approaches for the extraction of bioactive compounds from waste and prototypal application for ONE-HEALTH.
Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Member of the Joint Committee Teachers-Students (Commissione Paritetica Docenti-Studenti-CPDS) of the DBCF-UniSI
Delegate for the Placement of the DBCF-UniSI
My scientific background is primarily in proteomics/immunoproteomics and cell biology with a focus on elucidating the molecular basis of human and infectious diseases, cell stress and developing novel therapeutics. Current research involves proteomics and biochemical studies of rare conditions such as the ultra-rare metabolic disorders Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome and Alkaptonuria, and rare malignancies.
I authored more than 80 papers on international peer−reviewed scientific journals and book chapters scoring an h-index of 28; I am Associate Editor for Antibiotics and Guest Editor for the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, and Cells. I also serve as a reviewer for several journals in the fields of biochemistry, proteomics and cell biology and for proposals for national and international granting agencies (CINECA, Horizon 2020).
Associate Professor of Biochemistry
My research interests focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms of biological systems responding to perturbing agents, with an emphasis on oxidative stress and post-translational modifications of proteins.
My previous research focused on the post-genomic analysis of wine Saccharomyces cerevisiae, used as a model cell to understand the stress response during wine fermentation or due to contamination with pesticides. My current research deals with the molecular basis of rare human diseases, especially alkaptonuria, and in particular on the establishment and characterization of in vitro models as well as the analysis of stress biomarkers, pathological protein aggregation, and effects of drugs.
Researcher in Pathology di Biochimica (SIB).
Biologist Manager at U.O.C. Laboratory Clinical Pathology in University Hospital “Santa Maria alle Scotte” (Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese).
Member of Società italiana di Biochimica (SIB).
Member of Società italiana di Biochimica Clinica e Biologia Molecolare Clinica (SIBioC).
Member of Società italiana di Patologia Clinica e Medicina di Laboratorio (SIPMeL)
Member of the Tuscany Region PhD Biochemistry and Molecular Biology-(BiBiM 2.0)
Dottorato Executive Pegaso (Universities Siena, Pisa, Firenze and CNR).
Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Ottavia Spiga obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and received her Ph.D. degree in Biotechnology from the University of Siena in 2002.
Prof. Spiga is a vice-coordinator of Unisi Competence Center ARTES 4.0 for the Industry 4.0 field.
Her strong interest in molecular modelling and computational docking analysis led her to participate in many research projects globally. Her most prominent expertise is in the field of Computational Biology, with projects in Machine learning applications for the development of data-driven predictive models. She has developed an Interactive database: investigating clinical data to improve patient care in AKU rare disease, and Applications of in Silico Methods for the Design and Development of Drugs Targeting Protein-Protein Interactions. Her strong interest is in Molecular modelling, in silico screening and Molecular Dynamic simulation with the application of Artificial intelligence applied to Precision and Personalized Medicine.
Senior Researcher in Biochemistry
Principal Investigator of the NMR & Structural Biology Lab of the University of Siena.
Manager of MolSys Technology Platform for molecular characterization.
Associate editor for BMC Molecular and Cell Biology.
Author of more than 80 papers in international peer−reviewed scientific journals (see my WOS for an up-to-date record).
My background is primarily in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of biomolecules, computational biology, and bioinformatics. My research focuses on structure determination, metabolomic profiling, protein/protein, and protein/small molecule interaction.
My current research involves multi-omics investigation of rare metabolic disorders, rare malignancies, and steroid-converting enzymes.
Junior Researcher in Biochemistry
Co-founder and CDA member of SienabioACTIVE, a benefit start-up and Siena University spin-off.
Scientific background: study of osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and osteosarcoma cell lines’ proteome concerning osteoarticular diseases; study of the pathogenic mechanisms behind rare diseases
affecting the osteoarticular apparatus using in vitro and ex vivo models.
Current research: extraction, biochemical characterization, and study of in vitro effects of natural extracts derived from waste materials.
Junior Researcher in Biochemistry
Alfonso received his master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Siena in 2015 and a European Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy (DBCF) of Siena University in 2019.
From 2021 to date, he is research fellow and assistant professor at the DBCF in the same University, where he currently holds a module of “Big Data Issues in Computational Biological Chemistry” for master’s course in Sustainable Industrial Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (DBCF) and a module in “Advanced Biological Chemistry” for master’s course in Chemistry (DBCF).
Main research interests include structural biology, pairwise/multiple sequence alignments, molecular modeling, protein folding/unfolding pathway, docking and classical/meta molecular dynamics simulations. Currently Dr. Trezza is co/author of over 45 scientific works published in many renowned Peer-reviewed journals in the fields of Structural, Molecular, and Computational Biology.
Junior Researcher in Biochemistry
Anna graduated in applied mathematics and expert in the implementation of computer science, statistical modeling and Machine Learning methods to understand biological data.
Advanced skills in computational biology and bioinformatics, with a strong focus on the most advanced tools and approaches in the field of Precision Medicine, Life Sciences and Healthcare. Skills in building systems and processes that automate the acquisition, transformation, and analysis of data in Machine Learning projects.
Young Researchers and PhD Students
Research Fellow
Research Fellow
Bianca graduated in Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Firenze and got a professional master in bioinformatics. She is studying alkaptonuria focusing on identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets using bioinformatics techniques to handle the limited and heterogeneous data typical of rare diseases
Research Fellow
Research Fellow
PhD student
Pierfrancesco got a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Messina and a master’s degree in Sustainable Industrial Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Siena. He is exploring alkaptonuria, focusing on the application and use of alternative cellular models to overcome research challenges caused by the disease’s rarity, and investigating key events which are often shared with other disorders.
PhD student
PhD student
PhD student
2nd year PhD student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Siena, Italy. My PhD research primarily focuses on rare neurodevelopmental disorders (particularly on Lesch Nyhan Syndrome). Currently, I am working on peptidomics (MS-based) analysis of serum and plasma samples from different rare neurodevelopmental disorders patients. I am also involved in HPLC analysis of rare metabolic diseases for diagnostic purposes.
PhD student
1st year PhD student enrolled in the national PhD “Innovation in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of epidemic-pandemic-risk infections” . My PhD research focuses on novel antimicrobial compounds from natural sources. I am currently studying natural extracts to identify bacterial targets for their bioactive compounds.