Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Three million euros in funding awarded to Unimore for two research projects selected under the MUR FIS call

Two projects submitted and coordinated by academics from Unimore’s Department of Life Sciences have received funding, both ranked among the best proposals at national level.

The project “Hierarchical organic electronic sensors for the phenotyping of Alzheimer’s disease and inflammatory disorders”, which will receive almost €1.9 million in funding, is coordinated by Professor Fabio Biscarini.

This is an organic bioelectronics project applied to a clinical problem of great complexity and relevance: the study of the correlation between Alzheimer’s disease and inflammatory cerebral angiopathies. The HELP-AD project, which arises from the synergy between the research groups of Professor Fabio Biscarini and Professors Giovanna Zamboni and Carlo Salvarani, develops sensors based on organic transistors to detect in the blood antibodies linked to the beta-amyloid protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The challenge is to produce oligomers and aggregates of the beta-amyloid peptide and integrate them into an organic transistor matrix, endowing these devices with sensitivity and selectivity towards specific antibodies. The innovation includes advanced organic materials, neuromorphic sensors capable of learning recognition patterns, and the use of artificial intelligence to analyse sensor responses.

“The medical implications,” commented Professor Biscarini, “lie on the one hand in the possibility of achieving better patient stratification; on the other, in the ability to use the transistor to assess the effectiveness of biological drugs against Alzheimer’s disease on specific oligomers and peptide aggregates, thereby establishing criteria for in vitro screening prior to administration.”

Researcher Luca Pinzi will lead the project “Design and development of dual inhibitors (KRas-G12C/ADAM17) for the treatment of non-small cell lung carcinoma”, which has been awarded funding of approximately €1.1 million.

Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is one of the most aggressive and widespread cancers worldwide and is often resistant to therapies, particularly when mutations of the KRas protein are present, such as G12C. Recent studies have shown that this mutation, together with the hyperactivation of cellular signalling pathways regulated by the ADAM17 protein, promotes tumour growth and drug resistance in NSCLC, making KRas-G12C and ADAM17 ideal targets for polypharmacological strategies.

On this basis, the project aims to develop the first dual inhibitors of the ADAM17 and KRas-G12C proteins as an innovative strategy for the treatment of drug-resistant forms of NSCLC. Therapeutically promising candidates will be designed using innovative computational methods based on artificial intelligence, chemoinformatics and molecular modelling, and will then be synthesised and biologically tested to evaluate their efficacy in in vitro and in vivo models of the disease.

“I am deeply proud of this result,” stated project coordinator Luca Pinzi. “Winning an FIS3 grant represents an important recognition, as well as a significant impetus to pursue the objectives of my research with determination. It also confirms the leading role of our University in the field of innovative pharmaceutical research.”

With these results, Unimore confirms its ability to develop scientific projects that are competitive at both national and international level, strengthening the University’s role as a centre of excellence in research.

Categorie: International - english, Notizie_eng