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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) is Senior Researcher Tenured at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology, IIT), where he is Principal Investigator of the Smart Bio-Interfaces Research Line and Coordinator of the Center for Materials Interfaces (Pontedera, Italy).

He received his Master Degree in Biomedical Engineering (with honors) from the University of Pisa, Italy, in July 2006, and, in the same year, his Diploma in Engineering (with honors) from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, SSSA) of Pisa, Italy. In January 2010, he obtained his Ph.D. in Innovative Technologies (with honors) from SSSA. He joined IIT as Post-Doctoral Fellow from January 2010 to August 2013, and then as Researcher from September 2013 to October 2015. From October 2015 to October 2019 he was Associate Professor at the Polytechnic University of Torino (Torino, Italy), maintaining at the same time his research activity in IIT, where he is Senior Research Tenured since November 2019. In 2021, he was appointed Coordinator of the Center for Materials Interfaces; in the same year, he has been Visiting Professor at Waseda University, Tokyo (Japan).

His main research interests concern smart nanomaterials for nanomedicine, complex in vitro models, and biology 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 44, 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.

Gianni Ciofani 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
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., Ozlem S., 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
Article Journal
2023
Genchi G.G., Mollo V., Battaglini M., Belenli Gumus M., Marino A., Prato M., Marras S., Drago F., Pugliese G., Santoro F., Ciofani G.
Effects of simulated microgravity on the internalization of cerium oxide nanoparticles by proliferating human skeletal myoblasts
ACS Applied Nano Materials
Article Journal
2023
Ciofani G., Campisi M., Mattu C., Kamm R.D., Chiono V., Raynold A.A.M., Freitas J.S., Redolfi Riva E., Micera S., Pucci C., Novio F., Lorenzo J., Ruiz-Molina D., Sierri G., Re F., Wunderlich H., Kumari P., Kozielski K.L., Chami M., Marino A., Ferreira L.
Roadmap on nanomedicine for the central nervous system
JPhys Materials, vol. 6, (no. 2)
Article Journal
2023
Polo Y., Luzuriaga J., Gonzalez de Langarica S., Pardo-Rodriguez B., Martinez-Tong D.E., Tapeinos C., Manero-Roig I., Marin E., Munoz-Ugartemendia J., Ciofani G., Ibarretxe G., Unda F., Sarasua J.-R., Pineda J.R., Larranaga A.
Self-assembled three-dimensional hydrogels based on graphene derivatives and cerium oxide nanoparticles: scaffolds for co-culture of oligodendrocytes and neurons derived from neural stem cells
Nanoscale
Article Journal
Dissemination
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
2020
Ciofani G.
La medicina del futuro: Dalla terra allo spazio
Monterosso un Mare di Libri, Monterosso al Mare (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.
Nanozymes and space medicine
University of Trento, Trento (Italy)
Institute
2022
Ciofani G.
Active nanomaterials for advanced biomedical applications
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa (Italy)
Institute
2022
Ciofani G.
Grape-derived extracts as potential active pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients
Innovative approaches in cosmetic testing, in compliance with the European regulation, Genova (Italy)
Workshop/Symposium
2022
Ciofani G.
Nanozymes in biomedicine: Route towards clinical applications
32nd Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials, Bordeaux (France)
Conference
Awards and Achievements
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
2022
Ciofani G.
Premio Sciacchetrà 2022
2021
Marino A., Ciofani G.
2031 Award for the NABIS Start-Up project
2021
Salvetti A., Degl'Innocenti A., Gambino G., van Loon J.J.W.A., Ippolito C., Ghelardoni S., Ghigo E., Leoncino L., Prato M., Rossi L., Ciofani G.
Cover image of issue 109(11), November 2021, of Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A
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
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
2019
Ciofani G.
Advanced theranostic nanomedicine in oncology