معرفی
Vera Muccilli is an Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Catania, Italy. She coordinates the Master Degree in Chemical Sciences and contributes to the Chemistry of Bioactive Natural Products Group. Her academic journey includes a summa cum laude degree in Industrial Chemistry (2002) and a PhD in Chemical Sciences (2006), focusing on mass spectrometry applications in cereal proteins. She conducted research at the National Center for Biotechnology in Madrid and received recognition from the Italian Chemical Society in 2006.
Research interests span chemical/enzymatic modification of bioactive natural compounds, structure-activity relationship studies, polyphenol extraction from medicinal plants and agricultural waste, antioxidant activity evaluation, and metabolomic analysis via NMR. Her work integrates
- Biomimetic and enzyme-mediated synthesis
- Spectroscopic characterization (MS, NMR)
- Metabolic enzyme inhibition for drug discovery
- Valorization of plant biomass
Recent publications highlight her contributions to pancreatic lipase inhibition, antidiabetic agent development, and polyphenol-based materials. Collaborations include BASF SE, Universidade Federal do Paranà, and EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC. Funding includes national PRIN PNRR 2022 and 2017 grants, alongside a University of Catania Pia.ce.ri. grant for diabetes-targeted research.
Award:
- 2006: Young Researcher in Mass Spectrometry, Italian Chemical Society
Educational leadership includes roles as accredited tutor at the Scuola Superiore di Catania and delegate for CINAP (Active & Participatory Inclusion Center). She serves on the International Summer School on Natural Products committee and is a reviewer for 14 journals including Food Chemistry and Molecules.
