President
Ornella Pastoris
Ornella Pastoris is an Adjunct Professor at the Department of “Biology and Biotechnology” at the University of Pavia. She has previously served as a member of the Board of Directors and the Academic Senate of the University of Pavia. She was also the former President of the Didactic Council for Biotechnological Sciences and Coordinator of various programs, including the Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, the Master’s degree in Experimental and Applied Biology, the Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology, and the Master’s degree in Advanced Biotechnology. She oversees the Master’s Plus program in collaboration with companies and industries in the biotechnology sector.
Her research activities have primarily focused on cerebral and muscular bioenergetics, involving the evaluation of biochemical parameters in animal models and subsequently in the human field. In this context, she has been involved in the study of neurodegenerative diseases and neuromuscular disorders in pediatric patients. Currently, her research includes pharmacogenetics, particularly the study of genetic polymorphisms in patients who have exhibited adverse reactions following the intake of drugs or substances of abuse.
She is the author of over 160 publications in national and international journals and has participated as a speaker in numerous conferences. Currently, she serves as the President of CVBF and is a Member of the Technical Scientific Committee of BioBasic Europe.
Chief Executive Officer
Mariagrazia Felisi
Mariagrazia is the Chief Executive Officer of CVBF.
Work experience:
She has conducted research in the paediatric field, where she approached the sectors of clinical pharmacology, pharmacovigilance, management of disease registries which ultimately led her to acquire extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of clinical research. She has been participating in numerous national and international research projects, playing the leading role in many activities related to clinical trials.
Education:
Master’s Degree in Life Science, she received her PhD in clinical pharmacology from the University of Bari and her Master degree in Pharmacovigilance from the University of Florence.
Member
Cosimo Damiano Altomare
Cosimo D. Altomare is full professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Department of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Bari (Italy) since 2001, where he currently serves as Coordinator of the M.Sci. Degree in Pharmacy and Industrial Pharmacy. At the beginning of his career, he spent more than two years (1990-92) as post-doctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), whereas in 2008 and 2015 he was appointed as visiting professor at the Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) in Moscow and the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Prof. Altomare has authored more than 150 publications in journals with high impact factor, several book chapters and international patents, mostly pertaining computational chemistry, cheminformatics and molecular modeling as applied to drug design and repurposing of novel neurological, cardiovascular and anticancer agents. Invited speaker at several international conferences, since 2012 he serves as Co-Editor of the European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Elsevier). Currently involved in a project on drug repurposing in rare diseases (DefeatLD), supported by NextGenerationEU funds (PNRR), in the framework of long-dating collaboration with Consorzio per Valutazioni Biologiche e Farmacologiche (CVBF), Prof. Altomare actively contributed with his research unit within two projects: Small Medicines Advanced Research Training (SMART) and the European Paediatric Translational Research Infrastructure (EPTRI).
Member
Lucia Margari
Lucia Margari is Full Professor of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry at the University of Bari, Italy, where she has served in various leadership roles since 1994. She has directed the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit since 2005 and the School of Specialization in Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry since 2004. She previously held positions as Associated Professor (2002-2006) and Researcher (1994-2002) in Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry. Margari completed her medical training at the University of Bari, earning a Medical Doctorate in Neurology in 1984. She has authored over 100 publications in child and adolescent psychiatry and neurology. Margari is a member of several professional societies, having served on the board of the Italian Society of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry (2008-2014) and held leadership roles representing child neuropsychiatry within European medical organizations. Her research and clinical work focuses on assessment and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders in youth.