Dr. Valentina Pirota

Dr. Valentina Pirota is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Italy. She completed her PhD studies in Chemistry at the University of Pavia, Italy, in 2016 and has been awarded the Gian Piero Spada Award, designated for young researchers who have conducted significant research on non-canonical DNA structures. She has published 46 papers in various journals and serves as Associated Editor—Proteins and Nucleic Acids section—for the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules—Elsevier. Her teaching disciplines include the solid-phase synthesis of biological macromolecules, and her primary research interests are innovative gene therapies based on the selective targeting of nucleic acid secondary structures to identify novel, safe, and effective approaches for the treatment of different pathologies. Her main efforts are aimed at identifying secondary nucleic acid structures (i.e., G-quadruplex (G4)) located in the regulatory regions of genes, establishing their implications in different pathways involved in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.

STRENGTHENING OF THE RESEARCH

This action supports young talents with non-permanent position who have both met the following requirements: significant scientific achievements through the presentation, as a PI, of national or international competitive projects (research fellowships excluded) in the latest “call” for projects by the financing institution; in the absence of funding in the last call, individuals who have received quantitative assessments which were particularly positive and close to the threshold value

University of Pavia