Prof. Andrea Bolognesi

Andrea Bolognesi is the full professor of General Pathology at the Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES) of the University of Bologna and is the chair of the Faculty–Student Joint Committee of the Medical School. His current fields of investigation include the identification, purification and characterization of plant toxic polynucleotide:adenine glycosylases, also named ribosome-inactivating proteins, and their use as the toxic component of immunoconjugates, mainly developed for the targeted therapy of malignancies. Professor Bolognesi is responsible for the production, possession and use for research purposes of ricin, a substance included in table 1 by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, with authorization from the Ministry of Economic Development, Chemical Weapons Office. His laboratory is the reference centre of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture for the analysis of ricin in commercial products and environmental pollutants.