On 7th March Margherita Restori obtained her PhD, defending her thesis entitled "Novel Fluorescent Molecular Probes and Peptide-Drug Conjugates Targeting Integrin αvβ6 towards Precise Imaging and Treatment of Pulmonary Fibrosis".

Congratulations to Margherita on her successful PhD!

On the 29th November, Prof. Franca Zanardi was invited to give a seminar at the University of Milan on our research topic, entitled "Jumping from Heterocycles to Peptides in Search of New Chemical Connections and Molecular Functions".

If you missed it, you can find the abstract here: don't hesitate to contact us if you want to learn something new about our projects!

On 27 November, Dr Kelly Bugatti will delivered a webinar for Boc Sciences, wherein she presented a summary of the findings from our research into peptide-drug conjugates as a potential treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. 

The webinar was filmed and is available to watch again if you missed it. You can find the registration link on the Boc Sciences site (link), and feel free to contact our research group if you have any questions!

During the European Night of Reasearcher we played the CabbageMind! 

Do you know that the red cabbage contains an anthocyanin-based dye, which can be used as a pH indicator? We used the different colored solutions at different pH to play a classic MasterMind game, which turned, in this way, to a CabbageMind.

Come to visit us next year, at the Department of Food and Drug at the University of Parma. What will be the next way we will teach you chemistry?

Prof. Zanardi received the medal at the XXVIII National Congress of the Italian Chemical Society 2024 “for having been able to combine the research of innovative pathways of asymmetric organic synthesis for selective access to molecular diversity with the effective use of some molecular prototypes in the bio-medical field, with relevant results in precision medicine in the diagnostic and therapeutic fields.”

During this occasion, Prof. Zanardi held a lecture entitled “Handcrafting function-rich molecules: an amazing opportunity to serve life sciences.”

The “Adolfo Quilico” Medal, named in memory of this scientist of the last century, is awarded annually to a scholar or scholar who has distinguished himself or herself for research of special interest in the field of Bio-Organic Chemistry.

The two-year Ischia Advanced School of Organic Chemistry (IASOC) was held from September the 19th to the 24th: this year the school was a success not only for the large number of participants, but also for the exceptional quality of the lectures. The school is famous for having a program full of leading researchers, among whom this year was Prof. Marta Catellani, an exceptional chemist from the University of Parma, who enlightened the students with her lesson entitled “The Lively Chemistry of the Pd/Norbornene Duo”.

We're waiting to attend the school during September 2026: in the middle time, stay tuned by checking the school website! https://www.iasoc.it/home/