Kort præsentation

I am Professor of Biophysics at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences University of Copenhagen, Denmark leading a highly interdisciplinary research team working at the interface between physics, biology and pharmaceutical sciences.

Key Scientific Interests

• Protein and peptide self-assembly
• Stability of protein drug formulations
• Sustainable smart materials for drug delivery
• Advanced neutron and X-ray scattering for biomolecules
• Molecular simulations and advanced data analysis

CV

Previous Appointments and Education

2016 November-2023 June: Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmacy,  University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

2014 September-2016 October: Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmacy,  University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

2012-September/2014-September: Marie Curie IEF Fellow Dept. of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

2009-November/2012-September: Research Associate at the Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

2009-January/August: Fellowship at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

2009-March: PhD in Physics. Department of Physical and Astronomical Sciences of the University of Palermo.

2005 – July: Master degree in Physics at the University of Palermo, Italy

2000/2005: Undergraduate student at the Department of Physical and Astronomical Sciences (DSFA) of the University of Palermo, Italy.

Teaching

2014- today: Bachelor Course: Pharmaceutical Physical Chemistry I/II (lectures, lab sessions and excercise classes)

2015- today: Director of the PhD course Analytical Methodology in Protein Formulation Development

Commissions of trust

Member of MAX IV Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) - Soft Matter

Member of the steering committee for CPHSAXS, Small Angle X-ray scattering facility at SUND, KU

Member of the Lund Institute of Advanced Neutron and X-ray Science (LINXS)

Member of the Teaching board, the Department of Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Member of the Italian Society of Biophysics 

Member of the Integrative Structural Biology (ISBUC), UNiversity of Copenhagen.

Aktuel forskning

We use tools derived from physics and chemistry to address the complexity of nano- and micro-scale systems of biological relevance. We love working with proteins and peptides with the aim of understanding the physics laws ruling their stability, self-assembly mechanisms, and interactions with both biological interfaces and other biomolecules. We aim at translating this fundamental knowledge into novel high-impact applications, with a main focus on creating advanced materials for nano-medicine and drug delivery, improving safety of protein drug formulations and understanding the etiology of protein-related neurodegenerative diseases.

To achieve our goals, we use theoretical frameworks in combination with experiments mainly based on UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray and neutron scattering and optical and electron microscopies. We work in close connection with both international collaborators in academia, large-scale facilities and national and international industrial entities.

Assistant Professor

• Samuel Lenton

Postdocs

• Lasse Skjoldborg Krog
• Marco Polimeni (MSCA Fellow)

PhD students

• Tobias Winckler-Carlsen
• Xiaoyu Wang
• Andrea Lombardo
• Aditya Shiddapur (with Karlis Berzins)

Master students

• An Khanh Pham
• Nazidar Mgdl
• Eleonora Cioni

Selected Recent Funding

Novo Nordisk A/S  Industrial PhD 2027-2030 ~2 M DKK 

Novo Nordisk Foundation Research Project, 2025-2028 ~3.4 M DKK

Villum Young Investigator Plus Award, 2023-2026, ~4 M DKK

Novo Nordisk Foundation Research Project, 2024-2025 ~2 M DKK

China Scholarship Council, PhD stipend,2022-2025, ~420,000 DKK

Novo Nordisk A/S  Industrial PhD 2022-2025 ~2 M DKK 

Novo Nordisk Foundation Research Project, 2021-2023 ~2 M DKK

Villum Young Investigator Award, 2018-2025, 8.6 M DKK