Close-ups

Flavio Rizzolio
Molecular Biology

What do you teach at Ca’ Foscari? What are your main research interests?
My courses focus on biology and biomolecular and cellular aspects; ecotoxicology with the main objective of providing knowledge on genotoxic interaction between the environment and man; nanotechnology applied to the biomedical field. For several years now, I have been conducting translational research into the treatment of ovarian cancer and, in part, colorectal cancer. The research group is multidisciplinary in order to address all the issues associated with the discovery of the basic mechanisms that regulate the growth of cancer cells, the development of targeted drugs and nano-drugs and their clinical application.

Tell us about your academic path.
I graduated in Biology at the University of Pavia where I also specialised in Applied Genetics. After a period spent at San Raffaele in Milan, I did my PhD at the University of Siena in partnership with Temple University in Philadelphia.

What has given you the greatest satisfaction in your career?
Seeing my own scientific work cited in important medicine books.

What's an area you have always wanted to be involved in but have not yet had the opportunity to explore?
I would like to study how cancer cells work using interdisciplinary approaches where biology interacts with physics and chemistry.

A glimpse into the future: how do you imagine your future research?
In biology, things will be completely different from how we approach it today in Italy. A bit like in physics, where I imagine many groups working together for a common goal. The SARS-COV2 virus was an example of this.

Last update: 27/02/2024