SYNOPSIS OF RESEARCH ACTIVITY AND EXPERTISE
First Name: Menico
Last Name: Rizzi
Date of Birth: 20th April 1965
Prof. Menico Rizzi is an expert in biochemistry and structural biology, whose research activity has resulted in 125 publications in International journals and tenth of depositions in the Protein Data Bank. He is presently coordinating a group studying the biochemistry and the structural biology of proteins of medical relevance in the context of poverty-linked diseases (malaria and tuberculosis), cancer and cognitive impairment and of enzymes of biotechnological interest. Enzymes of interest for biotechnological applications in green chemistry processes, are also investigated. Prof. Rizzi has a successful record as a group leader in European Commission funded projects under FP5, FP6 and FP7, all focusing on drug discovery. Moreover, he has received funding from several National Agencies (MIUR; Regione Piemonte; Cariplo Foundation; Lagrange Foundation) and from Pharmaceutical Companies. Visiting professor at the University of Kyoto and at the Japanese National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Tokyo. Member of the Scientific Committee of several International Conferences including the 36th FEBS Congress and the organizer of International Congresses including the 2013 FASEB SRC on NAD metabolism and signaling. Invited speaker at National and International Conferences, Universities and Research Centers; lecturer at International Schools supported by UNESCO. Coordinator of a bilateral project Italy-USA and reviewer for several National and International funding agencies and International Scientific Journals; member of the Editorial board of International Scientific Journals. Prof. Rizzi has been the coordinator of the PhD program in Pharmaceutical and Food Biotechnology, of the group “Protein structures and functions” of the Italian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, vice rector for Scientific Research at the University of Piemonte Orientale, member of the GEV05 (Biological Sciences) for the VQR 2011-2014, expert member of the INN program at WHO – Geneva, member of the Steering Committee of the WHO School of INN (extranet.who.int/soinn/), president of the Evaluation Board of the “University of Piemonte Orientale” and of the University of Genova. Since April 2020 member of the Governing Board of ANVUR.
EDUCATION:
Degree: Laurea Degree (110/110 cum laude)
Year of Degree: 1990
Discipline: Chemistry
Institution: University of Pavia, Italy
Degree: Ph.D.
Year of Degree: 1996
Discipline: Biochemistry – Biocrystallography
Institution: University of Pavia, Italy
POSITIONS HELD
1997-1999: Ricercatore Universitario (Lecturer), Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Torino, Italy
1999-2004: Associate Professor, Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Piemonte Orientale, Italy
2004-2020: Full Professor, Biochemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Piemonte Orientale, Italy.
Present: Member of the Governing Board of the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR).
PUBLICATIONS (125)
Google Scholar:
All citations 4700
H-index 40
HONORS AND OTHER ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
– EMBO fellowship at EMBL/DESY outstation, Hamburg, Germany, 1996
– Organizer of the“5th European Workshop on Crystallography of Biological Macromolecules”, Como, Italy, 1999
– Organizer of the Symposium “Metalloproteins” at the 19th European Crystallographic Meeting, Nancy, France, 2000
– Member of the Consortium for “Structural genomics on Mycobacterium tuberculosis”, Los Alamos Laboratory, USA, supported by the NIH.
– Member of the Editorial board of “Tuberculosis Research and Treatment”
– Member of the scientific committee, co-organizers of the Symposium “Following the life of a protein” and chairman at the 36th Congress of the Federation of the European Biochemical Societies (FEBS), Turin, Italy, 2011
-Organizer of the Symposium “Frontiers in structural enzymology”, 27th European Crystallographic Meeting, Bergen, Norway
– Organizer of the Symposium “Molecular structures and disease” at the 57th National Congress of the Italian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Ferrara, Italy, 2013
– Organizer of the FASEB Summer Research conference on “NAD signalling and metabolism”, Chicago (USA), 2013
– Co-organizer of the Symposium “Disease related proteins” at the 23rd Congress of the International Union of Crystallography, Montreal, Canada, 2014
– Member of the Editorial Board of “Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences”
– Organizer of the Symposium “Frontiers in Structural Biology” 59° Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Biochimica e Biologia Molecolare, Urbino, 2015
– Member of the Scientific Committee of the Congress “Contrasts in Pharmacology 2.0” Università di Torino Fondazione Menarini, Torino, 2015
– Member of the Editorial Board of “International Journal of Molecular Sciences – Section Molecular Biophysics”
– Member of the Editorial Board of “Antibiotics”
– Member of Committee for Evaluation of PhD thesis (several Italian Universities, University of Western Cape Town, University of Bergen)
– Invited speakers to National and International Research Institute; to National and International Congresses (overall more than 70 Invitations)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Since 1999 at the University of Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro”, Italy:
– Biochemistry; Master degree in Pharmacy
– Biochemistry; Master degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology
On a non-routine basis, lecturer at Italian and International advanced courses for PhD students in Biochemistry and Protein Crystallography (e.g. November 2013: International Union of Crystallography School “Synchrotron Radiation Techniques and Nanotechnology: a Synergic Approach to Life Sciences and Medicine”, Cape Town, South Africa; “School on Biophysical Approaches to Macromolecules and Cells: Integrated Tools for Life Sciences and Medicine” Organized by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, NM-AIST, Arusha, Tanzania, September 2019)
Tutor of several undergraduate students, PhD students and Post-Docs