secondments

🌎Meet our secondees: Elisa Lazzarini (UNIBO) from 🇮🇹  to  🇳🇱 (WUR). Elisa will work on chemiluminescence and electrochemiluminescence investigation of CRISPR-Cas based biosensors

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Elisa obtained a Master’s degree in Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology at the University of Bologna, she is currently doing a PhD in Nanoscience for Medicine and the Environment under the guidance of Prof. Mara Mirasoli.

The research focuses on the development of new portable devices for multiplexed detection based on chemiluminescent enzyme assays, immunoassays or gene probe assays, using microfabrication technology and microfluidics for the quantitative analysis of molecules of interest in the medical, alimentary and environmental fields.

In Nano-ImmunoEra she is involved in the electrochemiluminescence investigation of CRISPR-Cas based biosensors

🌎Meet our secondees: Andrea Idili from 🇮🇹 (UNITOV) to  🇺🇸 (UCSB). Andrea will work on electrochemical aptamer sensors for the detection of clinically relevant targets

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Andrea received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry with full marks at the University of Rome Tor Vergata in 2017. During his Ph.D., he did three different visiting research periods (14 months) in the group headed by Prof. Alexis Vallée-Bélisle (UdeM, Canada). Dr.Idili did two different postdocs in the group of Prof. Kevin W. Plaxco (UCSB, USA – from 2017 to 2019) and Prof. Arben Merkoci (ICN2, Spain – from 2019 to 2021). From 2021 Dr. Idili has returned to the University of Rome Tor Vergata as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie research fellow and from 2022 he was appointed as Assistant professor. The importance of his research is highlighted in more than 39 peer-reviewed papers (21 h-index) published in high-impact factor journals, 1 patent, and 3 book chapters. He has received several international/national awards and fellowships in recognition of his work, including the “Marie Skłodowska-Curie individual fellowship” (ERC, 2021), “ISSNAF Awards for Young Investigators 2019” (ISSNAF, USA), the “PROBIST postdoctoral fellowship 2018” (BIST, Spain), and the “Canada-Italy Innovation Award 2013” (Embassy of Canada to Italy).

His current research focuses on the development of novel DNA-based electrochemical and optical sensors able to support the real-time, continuous monitoring of diagnostically relevant molecules both in vitro and in vivo

In Nano-ImmunoEra he is involved in DNA structure-switching design and development of electrochemical aptamer-based (EAB) sensors for the detection of clinically relevant targets.

🌎Meet our secondees: Melisa del Barrio from 🇪🇸 to  🇳🇱. Melisa is involved in the selection of recognition elements to target antibodies, bringing expertise in analytical chemistry and bioanalytical methods

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Melisa obtained her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Zaragoza and held postdoctoral positions at CNRS in Toulouse and Marseille (France). She was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Cofund fellow at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and CSIC between 2019 and 2021. She is currently Assistant Professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, pursuing research within the GSOLFA team led by Assoc. Prof. Elena Benito Peña and Prof. Guillermo Orellana.

Her research activities have been interdisciplinary and are mainly focused on bioelectrocatalysis and the development of (bio)sensors for biomarkers monitoring.

In the Nano-ImmunoEra project, she is involved in the selection of recognition elements to target antibodies, bringing expertise in analytical chemistry and bioanalytical methods.

🌎Meet our secondees: Giovanni Valenti from 🇮🇹 to  🇺🇸  UCSB. Giovanni is involved in the electrochemical and electrochemiluminescence investigation of the CRISP based biosensors

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Giovanni obtained the Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Bologna in 2010 under the guidance of Prof. Paolucci. He was appointed as an Assistant Professor in 2013, and he has been a Visiting Fellow at the Dublin City University (Prof. R. Forster) and at the University of Texas (Prof. Bard). In 2021, he became a faculty member as Associate Professor in the Department Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician” (University of Bologna).

He is passionate about electrochemistry and its application to nanomaterials, for the generation of light (ECL), for the early diagnosis (biosensors) and for energy application (CO2RR, HER and OER).

In Nano-ImmunoEra he is involved in the electrochemical and electrochemiluminescence investigation of the CRISP based biosensors.

🌎Meet our secondees: Bettina Glahn Martínez from 🇪🇸 to  🇺🇸  UCSB. Bettina is involved in the develop of novel biosensing also based on optical fibers and the combination with electrochemiluminescence

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🌎Meet our secondees: Jurre Steens from 🇳🇱 to 🇮🇹 Nano-ImmunoERA. Jurre will bring his expertise about type III CRISPR-Cas and will work on integration of this technology (🇳🇱 => 🇮🇹)

Jurre obtained a Master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology at the Wageningen University, he is currently doing a PhD in the Laboratory of Microbiology in the Bacterial Genetics group of Prof. John van der Oost under the supervision of Asoc. Prof. Raymond Staals and Prof. John van der Oost.

The research focusses on fundamental type III CRISPR-Cas biology with an emphasis on the molecular mechanisms and biochemistry. Besides this, the fundamental knowledge is being leveraged for application in nucleic acid diagnostics. As co-founder and CTO of the Wageningen University spin-off Scope Biosciences, he focusses on bringing point-of-use diagnostics to the market.

In Nano-ImmunoEra he is involved in bringing expertise about type III CRISPR-Cas and will work on integration of this technology into the project.

🌎Meet our secondees: Yemataw Addis Alemu from 🇮🇹 to 🇿🇦 Nano-ImmunoERA. Yemataw reserch will be focus on the nanomaterial-based inks electrodes production (🇮🇹 => 🇿🇦)

Yemataw Join Master Degree in Chemical Innovation and Regulation form University of Bologna  and University of Algarve in 2017. The thesis entitled “Synthesis, Characterization and Biological Evaluation of Zinc (II) Complexes with Phenanthroline Derivatives and S-Methyl Dithiocarbazate Schiff Bases “ under the  supervision of Prof. Isabel Cavaco and Prof. Isabel Correia. In 2020, he was granted a PhD scholarship in Chemistry at University of Bologna under the supervision of Prof. Luca Prodi and Prof. Giovanni Valenti.

Yemataw’s research work focused on design, synthesis and characterization of a different family of dye doped-nanoparticles and study of their photophysical and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) properties for bioanalytical applications.