Dr. Francesca Mariani worked for many years on host-pathogen interaction, at the level of cellular and molecular response. In particular, she dealt with infections of primary cultures of human macrophages (derived from whole blood monocytes of healthy donors) with intracellular pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tuberculosis) and Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus). In recent years she has applied her experience in the field of natural substances with antimicrobial and immunomodulating properties, and she has collected a bio-bank of over 200 extracts from Medicinal Aromatic Plants (PAM) collected in protected areas, in their respective balsamic periods, selected on the basis of scientific literature attesting their respective antimicrobial properties. Her first published studies analyzed the antimicrobial and immunomodulating effects of several extracts of Lavandula angustifolia and Corylus avellana Tonda Gentile Romana on human macrophages infected with S.aureus. Currently she is widening the study to the antimicrobial properties of Wild Medicinal Plants of the Mediterranean region.