Andrea Rinaldi

Curriculum Vitae et Studiorum Date and place of birth: Civitavecchia (Rome), September 16, 1967; Nationality: Italian; Marital status: married, two daughters; Institutional Address: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato (CA) - Italy; E-mail: rinaldi@unica.it, rinaldi.ac.2@gmail.com Education - 1991 (Dec.), B.S. degree in Natural Sciences, received, with full marks, from the University of Siena - Italy. The relevant Thesis, prepared under the tutorship of Prof. M. Cresti and Prof. A. Tiezzi, focused on the study of "High molecular weight polypeptides related to dynein in Nicotiana tabacum pollen tubes" - 1996 (Dec.), Ph.D. degree in Biochemical Sciences, received from the University of Rome ?La Sapienza? - Italy. Supervisor: Prof. A. Finazzi-Agrò. Thesis: "Synthesis and characterization of non-enzymatic models for the study of copper amine oxidases" Employment - is Full Professor of Biochemistry (05/E1-BIO/10) at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Cagliari - Italy Current research work is mainly focused on three main distinct projects, which involve the collaboration of several workers at various Italian and foreign Universities: i) Mechanism of action of antimicrobial peptides, based on their interaction with biological and artificial biomembranes (liposomes, lipid monolayers, et cetera). Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are crucial humoral components of the innate immunity system of virtually all organisms, which they defend from the invasion of attacking pathogens. In addition to their antimicrobial activities, many AMPs also bind strongly to endotoxin, the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and the primary cause of septic shock, a serious clinical problem and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients hospitalized in intensive care units worldwide. The possibility of developing AMPs as potential antibacterial and anti-endotoxin agents has spurred a range of studies on the molecular mechanism of interaction of AMPs with lipid membranes and LPS based on model systems, as well as studies conducted in animal models to demonstrate the endotoxin sequestrating and neutralizing activities of peptides in vivo. Following this scheme, we are currently investigating, by using a range of biochemical, biophysical and microbiological experimental approaches, the structure/function relationships and the mechanism of antibacterial/anti-sepsis action of Temporins ? potent antimicrobial peptides recently isolated from the European frog Rana temporaria ? and of other antimicrobial peptides from frog skin, such as Esculentins and Bombinins. More recently, we have started to apply the same techniques and background to disclose the modes of action of semi-synthetic AMPs with dendrimeric structure and the interaction of selected AMPs with bacterial biofilms. ii) Another line of research focuses on investigating various aspects of the biochemistry and biology of fungal organisms and plants, and their possible biotechnological applications. There is, in this case, a thorough study of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis (a mutualistic relationship of great ecological importance established between fungal hyphae in the soil and roots of higher plants) that involves basidiomycetes/ascomycetes and plants in selected ecosystems. The research includes the morpho-anatomical characterization of the ectomycorrhizas found in these environments and their molecular typing through sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal genes. The molecular information is also used to define the phylogeny of the fungal species concerned.

doctorate at La Sapienza from Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza (1996). Has experience in Biochemistry, focusing on Biochemistry