Our team – AMBROSIA EU project

University of Florence

Amedeo Amedei

Amedeo Amedei in 1996 he graduated with full marks and honours in Biology at Florence University. He started his scientific career studying the role of Th1/Th2 lymphocytes in GVHD, atopic dermatitis and kidney rejection. After he examined the role of Helicobacter pylori-specific immune response in gastric diseases. In 2003 began his doctor’s degree in "Clinical and Sperimental Medicine". In 2005 he became researcher at Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine (University of Florence), where in 2015 he was appointed Associate Professor. Recently, the Prof. Amedei has focused his scientific interests on the cancer immunology and the role of microbiota-immunity axis in inflammatory-correlated diseases. The great quality of his international profile is documented by scientific production: 200 peer reviewed articles (h-index: 51 and 8 8899 Citations), 9 book chapters and one patent (https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=6603007335). The Prof. Amedei is serving as an editorial board member of 13 international journals, as Referee of 43 Journals, as Co-Editor-Chief of one Journal. Finally, he carries out activities as scientific reviewer for international research projects of private and public entities. From 2016, he is in the Scientific Council of “Toscana Life Sciences” (TLS). To date he received more than of 6 million of euro by different proposals funded by several funding agencies, including Europe Commission, Italian Minister of Health, Tuscany Region, Nasa and local and international Foundations.

Dr. Edda Russo

Dr. Edda Russo, PhD, in 2006 she graduated with full marks and honours in Biology at the University of Florence, in 2012 she obtained the title of PhD in Biochemistry and Applied Biology. Then in 2021, she specialized in Clinical Pathology and Clinical Biochemistry with full marks and honours. She works at the laboratory of Microbiome and Host immunity, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence. Currently, she is the laboratory manager of the European project “AMBROSIA" and she is also a member of the joint laboratory MIA-LAB, Microbiome-Immunity Axis research for a Circular Health, at the University of Florence. She is a scientific grant writer, with national and international collaborations. Her main topic is the study of the mutual interplay between the microbiome and immune response in several diseases and health conditions. Her international profile is documented by scientific production: 45 peer reviewed articles, 4 book chapters ((H index: 14, 850 citations). https://www.linkedin.com/in/edda-russo-phd-91495a4a?originalSubdomain=it; https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Edda-Russo

Elena Niccolai

Elena Niccolai is Researcher at the Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence. She obtained the Doctoral Degree in Clinical Science in 2014, studying the immune-specific response in gastrointestinal tumors. For her studies on the anti-cancer immune response and the role of cancer microenvironment, in 2013, she became a member of the international consortium involved in the "Halifax Project" (http://www.gettingtoknowcancer.org/). She recently addressed her studies on the evaluation and correlation of the microbiome and the immune response in the genesis of immune-mediated diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. To date, she has co-authored 62 manuscript published on international peer reviewed scientific journal (H index: 26, 3450 citations).

Giulia Nannini

Giulia Nannini was born on 07/07/1991 in Florence, Italy. She graduated in Biological Sciences at Florence University in January 2014. In 2015-2016 she spent 4 months at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich studying the T immune response in pancreatic cancer in the laboratory of Professor Alexandr Bazhin and then, in February 2017 she obtained a Master’s Degree in Biosanitary biology with full marks and honours at Florence University. Her scientific career started in the laboratory of immunology (Department of Experimental and clinical medicine of Florence University), leads by Prof. Amedeo Amedei, with a scholarship (2017-2018) studying the T immune response and the microbiota in patients with colorectal cancer. In 2018 she obtained a research fellow studying the role of Enteroccoccus faecalis in human colorectal cancer. Actually she’s at the last year of her PhD in clinical science at the University of Florence with a project focusing on the interplay between microbiota and systemic inflammation in patients with HIV.

Simone Baldi

Simone Baldi is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence. He graduated with full marks and honours in Biology in 2016 and obtained his PhD in Clinical Science in 2022, studying the evolution, and its association with local and systemic diseases, of the oral microbiome from ancient skeletal collections to today. Currently, his research is focused on the functional and compositional characterization of the microbiota colonizing different body sites, and its association with different infectious, autoimmune and chronic degenerative pathologies. To date, he has co-authored 18 manuscripts published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals (H index: 8, 218 citations).

Prof. Fumagalli

Stefano Fumagalli, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine – Geriatrics at the University of Florence, Italy. He works in the Geriatric Intensive Care Unit and in the Day-Hospital for the management of complex arrhythmias in older patients. His present main topic of research is atrial fibrillation (AF) in the elderly, with special interest in the epidemiology of the arrhythmia and its association with other comorbid conditions, the specific effects of rate- and rhythm-control strategies in older individuals, focusing on prevention of disability and frailty, and the improvement of health-related quality of life. He is also interested in AF as a marker of a frail condition, and in patients reported outcomes when the arrhythmia is present. Last, he studied the interaction between COVID-19 and AF at an advanced age. Stefano Fumagalli is a Fellow of the European Heart Rhythm Association (FEHRA) and the European Society of Cardiology (FESC). He is also an International Member of the American College of Cardiology – Geriatric Cardiology Section, a Member of the Italian College of the University Professors of Internal Medicine, the President of the Directive Council of Tuscany Region of the Italian Society of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, and a Member of the National Directive Council of the Italian Society of Geriatric Cardiology.