Riccardo Funari

Riccardo Funari is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Mechanical Intelligence, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy, since 2024. Previously, he held an assistant professor position at the University of Bari 'Aldo Moro' (2021-2024) and conducted post-doctoral research at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (2017-2021), Jülich Forschungszentrum (2015-2017), and the University of Naples 'Federico II,' where he earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering (2015) after a degree in Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology (2011).

His research focuses on photonic and microfluidic biosensing for medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food safety. Key areas include antibody immobilization strategies, nanoplasmonic sensor design, and biofilm dynamics characterization. His work spans applications such as

• prostate cancer detection
• COVID-19 vaccine analysis
• toxin and pesticide quantification
• real-time microbial monitoring

Patents include methods for memory cell production and smart accumulator systems. His technical expertise encompasses femtosecond laser micromachining, UV-based functionalization, and X-ray scattering for biomolecular characterization.