PhD in CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

email: andrea.battistoni@uniroma2.it
phone: 0672594372
building: SOGENE
room: 372

Education and training

1986 Degree in Biological Sciences. Sapienza University of Rome

1991: PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology. University of Rome Tor Vergata

1991-1992: IRBM fellow

1993-1997: Post-doc.  Department of Biology of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

Employment

1997−2001: University researcher Department of Biology of the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Academic field BIO/10-Biochemistry).

2001− 2012: Associate professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biology of the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Academic field BIO/10-Biochemistry).

2012-present: Full professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biology of the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Academic field BIO/10-Biochemistry)

Teaching

2008-today: Industrial Biochemistry

2013-today: Cellular Proteomics and Principle of Proteomics

2002-2008: Biochemistry

2002-2008: Methods in Biochemistry

Honours

2018-today : Coordinator of the Master of Science in Biotechnology of the University of Rome Tor Vergata

2013 – 2022: Member of the Commission for the valorisation of research results and technological transfer

Research interests

My research interests are mainly focused on the role of metalloenzymes and transition metal ions in host-pathogen interaction. Metals play an essential role in all organisms, and transition metals are used as cofactors by more than 25% of proteins, many of which participate in important metabolic pathways and contribute to resistance to numerous stress conditions. It is therefore not unexpected that bacteria have developed complex machinery to ensure an adequate supply of these elements and, at the same time, avoid the toxicity associated with their accumulation within the cell.

In this context, my laboratory investigates the role of zinc in enteropathogens such as Salmonella enterica and the bacteria responsible for lung infections typical of cystic fibrosis, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Our studies have contributed to establishing that pathogenic bacteria compete with their hosts for zinc binding and that the high-affinity zinc transporter ZnuABC is key to the ability of bacteria to successfully colonize the host. We have also recently demonstrated that P. aeruginosa obtains zinc also through the secretion of a "zincophore", a small organic zinc-capturing molecule, and that zinc is fundamental for the ability of this pathogen to express a series of virulence traits and to infect the lungs of mice. Our research aims at a deeper understanding of the role of zinc in microbial physiology and the interconnections between the homeostasis of this and other transition metals, and to develop new antimicrobial strategies based on interference with metal acquisition processes