Alfonso Gautieri, PhD, Associated Professor

Alfonso Gautieri is Associate Professor at Politecnico di Milano, in the Department of Eletronics, Information and Bioengineering. Alfonso coordinates the Biomolecular Engineering Laboratory which is focused on the development of in silico methods to engineer proteins and peptides. He has extensive experience in the use and development of computational methods for in-depth investigations of proteins structure, protein rational design, protein-ligand docking, and high-throughput virtual screening. He also have experience in complementary experimental techniques, such as protein expression, purification, and crystallography. His work has been presented in more than 50 peer reviewed papers (17 as first author, 11 as corresponding and/or last author), 4 book chapters, 9 oral presentations at major international meetings and 2 international patents.

Selected publications:

1. H. Estiri, S. Bhattacharya, J. Alexander, R. Buitrago, R. Castagna, L. Legzdiņa, G. Casucci, A. Ricci, E. Parisini, A. Gautieri. 2023. Tailoring FPOX enzymes for enhanced stability and expanded substrate recognition. Scientific Reports 13, 18610. [Link]
2. F. Rigoldi, S. Donini, A. Torretta,  A. Carbone,  A. Redaelli,  T. Bandiera,  E. Parisini,  A. Gautieri. 2020. Rational backbone redesign of a Fructosyl Peptide Oxidase to widen its active site access tunnel. Biotechnology and Bioengineering 117, 3688–3698 (cover paper). [Link]
3. F. Rigoldi, S. Donini, F. Giacomina, F. Sorana, A. Redaelli, T. Bandiera, E. Parisini, A. Gautieri. 2018. Thermal stabilization of the deglycating enzyme Amadoriase I by rational design. Scientific Reports 8, 3042. [Link]

Simone Vesentini, PhD, Associate Professor

Simone Vesentini has obtained , cum laude, the PhD degree in Bioengineering in 2004 on the molecular modeling of tendon structural proteins such as collagen and proteoglycans. In 2005 he received the award “Gruppo Nazionale di Bioingegneria, Patron” for the best PhD’s thesis in Biomedical Engineering. He worked as research fellow at the Computational Biomechanics Laboratory and he was involved in one STREP European Project for the MD modeling of bioartificial membranes. Since June 2008 he is assistant professor at the Bioengineering Department of the Politecnico di Milano. His research interests include soft tissue modeling and biomolecular modeling, concerning the latter he is working on the structure-function relationship in extracellular matrix molecules in normal and pathological conditions. In this regard he is Principal Investigator I of a project funded by the Politecnico di Milano and concerning material science since March 2012 he is Principal Investigator of a Fondazione Cariplo Project for the synthesis of a new proteoglycan substituent to be used in cartilage tissue engineering . He is author of about 50 scientific publications in the field of nanobiomechanic and molecular modeling, including more than 20 peer reviewed manuscripts on international journals.

Monica Soncini, PhD, Associate Professor

Monica is Associate Professor at the Department of Electronic, Information and Bioengineering of Politecnico di Milano. Her main research activities are in the field of biomechanics at the molecular level (cytoskeleton, amyloid proteins and peptides and nuclear pore complex) and in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In the field of molecular biomechanics/biophysics she was involved into two European projects (FP6) focused on active biomimetic systems (STREP2004 and MarieCurieEST2004) and she is now contributing to ERC-grant NICHOID for investigating mechanotransduction mechanisms at the nuclear pore level. In the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine she was involved in several research projects with the aim of developing culture systems for aortic homograft recellularisation, cardiac tissue regeneration (PRIN2006, CARIPLO2008), pericardium and bladder decellularization, urinary bladder regeneration (PRIN2008, as Unit PI), perfusion systems for stem cells expansion (CARIPLO2006), and ex vivo culture systems for the analysis of cellular mechanisms at the base of saphenous vein graft arterialization (RF-GR-2011 as Unit PI). In the last years her activities have been focusing on tissue culture systems for vascular native or engineered tissues. Two of the recently developed bioreactor systems have been patented. She is author of about 200 publications, including 64 peer reviewed international papers (Scopus H-index 26).

Andrea Ricci, MSc, PhD Candidate

Currently a PhD Student in Politecnico di Milano, I started my activity in DEIB in 2021. My background in Biotechnologies (Bachelor degree) and Industrial Biotechnologies (Master degree), in Modena, has allowed me to experience a wide pool of scientific topics and technologies, from human tumor cells manipulation to biosensor functionalization and characterization. At Polimi, my activities moved towards environmental problems, with focus on the depolymerization of recalcitrant bio- and plastic-based polymers, from chitin and cellulose to PET. In particular, we engineered newly-discovered, edge-cutting enzymes like LPMOs and PETases to enhance their performance, stability, and production yield. Moreover, I moved continuously in different academic and private realities, in Italy and abroad, experimenting different techniques for both protein characterization and production with living organisms. During my PhD I experienced various research techniques, from computational studies to cell cultures, from protein purification to enzymatic activity assays.