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Gianni Ciofani

Senior Researcher Tenured - Principal Investigator - Center Coordinator
Smart Bio-Interfaces
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About

Gianni Ciofani (born in La Spezia, Italy, on August 14th, 1982), Ph.D., is Senior Researcher Tenured at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia -Italian Institute of Technology, IIT- (Pontedera, Italy; since 2019), where he is Principal Investigator of the Smart Bio-Interfaces Research Line (since 2017) and Coordinator of the Center for Materials Interfaces (since 2021). He has been Associate Professor at the Polytechnic University of Torino (Torino, Italy; 2015-2019) and Visiting Professor at Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan; 2021).

His main research interests concern smart nanomaterials for nanomedicine, complex in vitro models, and nanomedicine in altered gravity conditions. He is coordinator or unit leader of several projects (about 5.5 MEur granted): in particular, he was awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant and two ERC Proof-of-Concept Grant in 2016, 2018, and 2022, respectively. Thanks to grants from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA), he had the opportunity to carry out experiments onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2017, 2019, and 2022. In 2018, his real-scale model of the blood-brain barrier was highlighted in the Annual Report on the ERC Activities and Achievements.

Gianni Ciofani is author of about 170 papers on international journals (Scopus H-index 46, excluding self-citations), 3 edited books, and 16 book chapters, and delivered about 60 invited talks/lectures in international contexts. He serves as Reviewer for many funding agencies (including ERC, Swiss National Science Foundation, French National Research Agency, National Science Center of Poland), for about 200 international journals, and as Editorial Board Member of Bioactive Materials, International Journal of Nanomedicine, Journal of Physics: Materials, Nanomedicine UK, Nano Trends, and Scientific Reports; he is Specialty Chief Editor (Nanobiotechnology) for Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology.

During his career, he held courses for B.Sc. and M.Sc. students at the Polytechnic University of Torino and at Waseda University, and is currently holding a course for Ph.D. students at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa, Italy); he is / has been supervisor of about 50 M.Sc. students and 20 Ph.D. students.

He is co-founder (2022) and Scientific Advisor of “Kidaria Bioscience SRL”, an IIT spin-off company dedicated to the preparation and characterization of cosmetic and nutraceutical products based on natural-derived active ingredients. He is also co-founder (2021) and member of the executive committee of “ERC in Italy APS”, a non-profit association of ERC awardees born to promote fundamental and frontier research in Italy.

Gianni Ciofani is Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, appointed by the President of the Italian Republic on December 27th, 2022.

Complete CV: https://www.iit.it/documents/217267/0/Biography_GianniCiofani.pdf

Education

Title: Ph.D. in Innovative Technologies
Institute: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
Location: Pisa
Country: Italy
From: 2007 To: 2010

Certificate

Title: Pre-acceleration program “Bocconi for Innovation (B4I)”, Bocconi University (Milano, Italy)
Description: The Bocconi Pre-Accelerator is a 3-month training program designed for aspiring entrepreneurs who are working on early stage business ideas. It aims at helping in the development of a minimum viable product and in the validatation of a business idea.
Date: 08-06-2021

Title: Full Professorship Qualification
Description: National Scientific Qualification, obtained from the Italian Ministry of University and Research, to the function of Full Professor of Experimental Matter Physics (2018-2028), Applied Physics (2017-2027), and Bioengineering (2017-2027)
Date: 01-01-2017

Experience External

Title: Co-founder & Scientific Advisor
Institute: Kidaria Bioscience SRL
Location: Monterosso al Mare
Country: Italy
From: 2022 To: null

Title: Visiting Professor
Institute: Waseda University
Location: Tokyo
Country: Japan
From: 2021 To: 2021

Title: Associate Professor
Institute: Politecnico di Torino
Location: Torino
Country: Italy
From: 2015 To: 2019

All Publications
2023
Marino A., Battaglini M., Tricinci O., Carmignani A., Ciofani G.
Advanced brain-on-a-chip platforms fabricated by two-photon lithography for drug screening applications: Investigations of drug delivery and target selectivity
33rd Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials, pp. P655
Conference Paper Conference
2023
Ceccarelli M.C., Battaglini M., Ciofani G.
An innovative in vitro microfluidic and three-dimensional blood-brain barrier model able to mimic the neurovascular unit environment
33rd Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials, pp. P239
Conference Paper Conference
2023
De Pasquale D., Pucci C., Desii A., Marino A., Debellis D., Leoncino L., Prato M., Moscato S., Amadio S., Fiaschi P., Prior A., Ciofani G.
A Novel Patient-Personalized Nanovector Based on Homotypic Recognition and Magnetic Hyperthermia for an Efficient Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme
Advanced healthcare materials
Article Journal
2023
Nica V., Marino A., Pucci C., Sen O., Emanet M., De Pasquale D., Carmignani A., Petretto A., Bartolucci M., Lauciello S., Brescia R., de Boni F., Prato M., Marras S., Drago F., Hammad M., Segets D., Ciofani G.
Cell-Membrane-Coated and Cell-Penetrating Peptide-Conjugated Trimagnetic Nanoparticles for Targeted Magnetic Hyperthermia of Prostate Cancer Cells
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, vol. 15, (no. 25), pp. 30008-30028
2023
Beola L., Iturrioz-Rodriguez N., Pucci C., Bertorelli R., Ciofani G.
Drug-loaded lipid magnetic nanoparticles for combined local hyperthermia and chemotherapy against glioblastoma multiforme
ACS Nano, vol. 17, (no. 18), pp. 18441–18455
Article Journal
Dissemination
2023
Ciofani G.
Costa Ligure e ricerca biomedica: Studio ed applicazioni delle molecole antiossidanti dell’uva
SeaTalk, La Spezia (Italy)
Public Event
2023
Ciofani G.
Nanomedicina Spaziale
Istituto Superiore “G. Falcone”, Loano (Italy)
Outreach
2022
Pucci C., De Pasquale D., Ciofani G.
AIRC nelle Scuole: CyberNano
Scuola Media “F. Sacchetti”, San Miniato (Italy)
Outreach
2022
Ciofani G.
Antiossidanti tradizionali ed innovativi: Possibili applicazioni per la salute dell’astronauta
Festival dello Spazio, Busalla (Italy)
Public Event
2022
Ciofani G., Coletti C.
Scienza ed innovazione sul territorio: I centri dell’Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia della Provincia di Pisa
Cascina Europa, Cascina (Italy)
Public Event
Scientific Talks
2023
Ciofani G.
Biomimetic antioxidant nanomaterials in biomedicine
European Materials Research Society Spring Meeting, Strasbourg (France)
Conference
2023
Ciofani G.
Lipid-based magnetic nanoparticles for glioma treatment: Towards a personalized approach
International Union of Radio Science General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, Sapporo (Japan)
Conference
2023
Ciofani G.
Multifunctional nanovectors: Towards the clinical practice
Seasonal School “From minimally invasive surgery to nanorobotics: A voyage in the field of intervention robotics”, Pisa (Italy)
School (Summer school, ...)
2023
Ciofani G.
Nanomaterials-mediated manipulation of cellular functions
IEEE Nanotechnology Council - Technical Committee 2 "Nano-Biomedicine" Series - [On line]
Conference
2023
Ciofani G.
Nanozymes and space medicine
University of Trento, Trento (Italy)
Institute
Awards and Achievements
2023
De Pasquale D., Pucci C., Desii A., Marino A., Debellis D., Leoncino L., Prato M., Moscato S., Amadio S., Fiaschi P., Prior A., Ciofani G.
Cover image of issue 12(19), July 2023, of Advanced Healthcare Materials
2023
Marino A., Battaglini M., Carmignani A., Pignatelli F., De Pasquale D., Tricinci O., Ciofani G.
Cover image of issue 7(3), September 2023, of APL Bioengineering
2023
Ciofani G.
“Special recognition” awarded by Bientina Municipality (Pisa, Italy)
2022
Marino A., Tricinci O., Zarovni N., Battaglini M., De Pasquale D., Ciofani G.
2nd place at the StartCup Toscana Contest for the NABIS Start-Up project
2022
Ciofani G.
Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Editorships
2022
Ciofani G.
Nano Trends
2020
Ciofani G.
Nanomedicine
2019
Ciofani G.
Bioactive Materials
2019
Ciofani G.
Journal of Physics: Materials
2019
Ciofani G.
Scientific Reports
Organized Events
2023
Marino A., Ciofani G.
Advanced in vitro models: From organs-on-chips to advanced 3D architectures
2022
Battaglini M., Ciofani G.
Antioxidant nanomaterials for biomedical applications
2021
Ciofani G., Takeoka S.
Bio-Nano cross-over international workshop
2021
Ciofani G., Chrzanowski W.
Bio-Nano international workshop
2021
Ciofani G., Pucci C., Yang Y., Hu J.
Smart (nano)biomaterials and their applications