Curriculum
Valeria Vergine
Curriculum Vitae
Place Rome Date 01/04/2025
Part I – General Information
Full Name Valeria Vergine
Date of Birth 16/05/1993
Place of Birth Pizzo (VV)
Citizenship Italian
Permanent Address Vico I° Trinità, n°9
Mobile Phone Number 3288931116
E-mail valeria.vergine@uniroma1.it; valeria.vergine1605@pec.it.
Spoken Languages Italian, English.
Part II – Education
IIA – Academic Education
Type Year Institution Notes (Degree, Experience,…)
PhD
2022
Sapienza University of Rome
Pharmaceutical Sciences (XXXV cycle)
University graduation 2019
Sapienza University of Rome Medicinal Chemistry (Laurea Magistrale a ciclo unico – classe LM13 in Chimica e Tecnologia Farmaceutiche (CTF))
II B – Other training course
06-08/06/2021
Federico II University, Napoli.
4th International Summer School on Natural Products, ISSNP. Virtual.
10-12/5/2021 University of Milan. 4th International School of Process Chemistry (ISPROCHEM). Virtual.
Part III – Appointments
IIIA _ Academic Appointments
Start End Institution Position
3/2023
3/2026
Department of Chemistry and
Ricercatore a tempo determinato -
Technology of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza - University of Rome tipologia A (RTDA) con regime di impegno a tempo definito per il settore concorsuale 03/B1, settore scientifico disciplinare CHIM/03.
IIIB – Research experiences
9/12/2024 15/12/2024 Institut de Chimie Physique (ICP), Université Paris Saclay (Orsay) RTDA
12/2021 08/2022 McMaster University (Hamilton,Canada) Visiting PhD student
IIIC – Commission
30/7/2024 Aula A Clinica Ortopedica – Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, Sapienza - University of Rome Committee chairman of “Concorso di ammissione ai corsi di laurea magistrale a ciclo unico in
Medicina e Chirurgia e Odontoiatria e Protesi Dentaria
Facoltà: Medicina e Odontoiatria – Farmacia e Medicina – Medicina e Psicologia”
Part IV – Teaching experience
Dates Institution Course/Lecture
30/9/2024 30/9/2025 Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza - University of Rome,
31776-MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY AND COMPUTER SCIENCE FOR PHARMACEUTICAL APPLICATIONS - BIOLOGIA MOLECOLARE, CHIMICA FARMACEUTICA E INFORMATICA PER APPLICAZIONI FARMACEUTICHE [L-270 - Ord. 2023 - English Language Course] - L-29 – interfaculty (Latina) Principles of general and inorganic chemistry (module II, CHIM/03)
12/7/2024 Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza - University of Rome Seminar with the title “Evaluation of new and re-emerging risks in food matrices and advanced methods for food safety “to the PhD course “Pharmaceutical Sciences”.
27/02/2024 Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza - University of Rome Seminar titled “Identification and characterization of chemical hazards in traditional food products: advanced analytical methods for food safety“to the international PhD course “Molecular design and characterization for the promotion of health and well-being: from drug to food”.
5-6/2/2024
and 15- 16/4/2024 High schools Liceo Ginnasio Statale Virglio and Istituto Niccolò Machiavelli in Rome Orientation courses within the University project “ORIENTAMENTO NEXT
GENERATION - UNIVERSITÀ DEL LAZIO – SAPIENZA”.
Part V - Society memberberships, Awards and Honors
VA - Society memberberships Year Title
VB – Awards Year Title
Part VI - Funding Information [grants as PI-principal investigator or I-investigator]
VIA – Funding Information [grants as PI-principal investigator]
Year Title Program Grant value
2021 Design and synthesis of stylbenic derivatives as potential antibiotic- resistance inhibitors mediated by Arnt.
Avvio alla Ricerca
1.000,00€
2021
Natural product chemistry as a promising tool to develop new Smo inhibitors for the treatment of hedgehog-dependent tumors.
Progetti di mobilità congiunta di studenti di dottorato di ricerca
4.200,00 €
VIB – Funding Information [grants as I- investigator, participant]
Year Title Program Grant value
2021
Pharmacological inhibition of colistin resistance in Gram-negative
FFC Project (FFC#12/2021).
Extension of previous
84.040,00 €
cystic fibrosis pathogens. FFC project (FFC#15/2019).
2020 Identification and synthesis of natural diterpenes with ent- beyeranic structure as adjuvants to colistin in the treatment of bacterial infections MDR.
Avvio alla Ricerca
1.000,00 €
Part VII – Research Activities
Keywords Brief Description
Natural Products
The research activity of Dr Valeria Vergine is focused on the study of plant
and food-based matrices, carried out using a multimethodological approach.
The development and improvement of appropriate analytical protocols
includes the study of pre-analytical treatment (e.g. extraction procedures)
according to the matrix examinated. The combined application of advanced
analytical untargeted methodologies as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
(NMR) spectroscopy and High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS),
together with targeted techniques like High Performance Liquid
Chromathography (HPLC), allowed the identification and characterization
of chemical compounds which may have an implication towards human
health and well-being. In this scenario, her research interest aims at
developing chemical libraries of novel natural products, mostly identified
Analytical from extracts of medicinal plants. She collaborated in the construction and
characterization of optimization of a unique in-house library of about one thousand of bioactive
raw material natural compounds. In particular, she identified, isolated, and elucidated the
structure of several natural products by HPLC-MS, NMR, and HRMS,
providing at the construction of virtual library based on the chemical
structure of the isolated compounds, for in silico screening purposes. This
in-house library offers a unique chance to identify new scaffolds for the
development of therapeutically-relevant molecules. Infact, it was
successfully screened in silico and in vitro for the identification of hit and
lead compounds in previous early-stage drug discovery projects. In the field
of antibiotic resistance fight, Dr. Vergine worked on the isolation,
identification and structural elucidation of novel diterpenoids from a chilean
higher plant as adjuvants to colistin to treat MDR Gram-negative infections.
Moreover, she helped to identify some anthranoids as novel antimicrobial
compounds able to inhibit and kill a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-
negative bacteria. In a latest work, in the field of targeted therapy against
cancer, she contributed through the combination of molecular docking-
based virtual screening and the (G4-CPG G-quadruplex on Controlled Pore)
Glass experimental screening assay, to identify natural compounds as hit
binders of telomeric and oncogenic G4s.
As regard food matrices, a multi-methodological approach, based on untargeted, i.e. high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and NMR, and targeted, i.e. HPLC-PDA, HPLC-MS, methods is used to identify chemical- biological hazards and improve food safety and genuineness to maximize the coverage of primary and secondary metabolites. The research activity involves the development of innovative analytical protocols to obtain the chemical profile of selected foods and assess their quality. Several experimental projects have been developed in the frame of the ONFOODS consortium (Research and Innovation Network on Food and Nutrition Sustainability, Safety and Security – Working ON Foods) in coherence with the objectives of PNR FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY THEMES, through a holistic approach, that are food safety, food integrity, new exploitations of the human microbiome, a healthy and sustainable nutrition, new protein sources, new and more efficient processing technologies. “Pomodoro Riccio” case study is aimed at the metabolomics profile and possible identification of new and (re)-emerging hazards of an old tomato fruit ecotype, i.e., “Pomodoro Riccio”. This is a cultivar particularly suited to grow up on clay soils, with a low demand for water, that could ultimately mean a lower intake of contaminants. In fact, it has been proven that water is the primary source of heavy metals and pesticide residues; thus, this old cultivar has the potential to enhance the quality of tomatoes that emerges as a matter of priority for customer’s safety. In this context, innovative analytical methods were used herein for the identification and characterization of chemical-biological hazards, pesticides, and metabolites by means of FT-ICR MS, NMR, and HPLC-MS/MS, for ascertaining food safety and genuineness.
Synthesis and structural elucidation of organic compounds Dr. Vergine worked on total synthesis of bioactive natural products, such as prenylated carbazoles, anthraquinones and natural diterpenes. In a latest work, she helped to the rational design and syntheses of small natural diterpenes as potential inhibitors of the enzyme responsible for colistin resistance, to treat MDR Gram-negative infections. In this regard, a large variety of diterpene analogues was produced for further SAR studies with the aim of identifying lead compounds against colistin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, thus exploiting the versatility of the diterpene scaffold. She elucidated the structure of all the isolated natural products by means of HPLC, LC-MS, NMR and ESI-HRMS.
In the field of organometallic reaction, Dr. Vergine focused her research activities on the development of new synthetic methodologies for the construction of bioactive spirolactones taking advantage of gold catalysis.
Main skills: Design, synthesis, isolation, purification and structural elucidation of natural products by HPLC, LC-MS, ESI-HRMS, NMR.
Part VIII – Participation to conferences, workshops and scientific meetings Dates Institution/place Description
16/1/2025 Università Cattolica (Piacenza) Annual meeting of the ECS from Spoke 3 of ONFOODS project
16-18/10/ 2024 Torre Canne (Brindisi) 8MS FOOD DAY
23-25/9/2024 Sapienza, University of Rome International congress “AMYC BIOMED 2024
20-21/6/2024 Sapienza University of Rome VIII Workshop Applicazioni della risonanza magnetica nella scienza degli alimenti
15-16/02/2024 Salerno, (SA) 4th MS-NatMedDay
29-30/01/
2024 Milano, (MI) ONFOODS event: our first year of reserach activity
18/12/2023 CNR, Rome Workshop MS Quad 2023
13/12/2023 Sapienza University of Rome La Giornata Tecnologica e Applicativa SCIEX
29-31/05/2023 Marsala (TP) XIII Congresso Nazionale di Chimica degli Alimenti
13-17/06/2022
Calgary, Canada 105th Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) at Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition.
23/04/2021 Virtual Conference BIOHYDROGELS _ From basic science to applications of hydrogels in drug delivery and regenerative medicine.
15/12/2020 Virtual Edition COST Action 17104 Stratagem WG2 International Online Symposium on “Synthesis and nanodelivery strategies for new therapeutic tools against Multidrug Resistant Tumours”.
28/02/2020 Webinar FlashPure e PrepPure: consumabili alla portata di tutti
22/09/2020 Meeting online “La Canapa Industriale: Sviluppo e Valorizzazione di una Nuova Filiera Agroalimentare Ecosostenibile”.
5/02/2020 Sapienza University of Rome “Scienza e Fede”.
6/05/2019 Sapienza University of Rome NEW HORIZONS IN CANNABIS RESEARCH: “MEDICAL AND FOOD APPLICATIONS”.
21-22/06/2018 Sapienza University of Rome VI workshop “Applicazioni della risonanza magnetica nucleare nella scienza degli alimenti”.
Part IX - Oral and Poster Communications
16-18/10/ 2024 Torre Canne (Brindisi) Oral presentation entitled “Assessment of Pomodoro Riccio Metabolomic Profile through a Multimethodological Approach for Food Safety “at the “8MS FOOD DAY
23-25/9/2024 Sapienza, University of Rome Oral presentation entitled “Multimethodological Approach for the Assessment of Apple Samples in Commercial Bio-Packaging” at the international congress “AMYC BIOMED 2024”.
21/06/2024 Sapienza, University of Rome Oral presentation at VIII Workshop Applicazioni della risonanza magnetica nella scienza degli alimenti on “Approccio
Multimetodologico per Valutare la Qualità delle Mele in Bio Packaging Commerciali”.
15-
16/02/2024 Salerno, (SA) Poster presentation at 4th MS-NatMedDay on “Pomodoro Riccio
metabolomic profile by means of NMR and MS methodologies: a case study”.
29-
31/05/2023 Marsala (TP) Poster presentation at XIII Congresso Nazionale di Chimica degli Alimenti on “TOMATO FRUIT METABOLITES AND CHEMICAL- BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS THROUGH NMR AND MS
METHODOLOGIES”.
13-
17/06/2022 Calgary, Canada Poster presentation at 105th Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) at Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition on “Development of diterpene-based inhibitors of ArnT, a lipid A arabinosyl transferase
involved in colistin resistance”
6-8/7/2021 Virtual Poster presentation at International Summer School on Natural
Products 4th Edition on “Development of ArnT-mediated colistin resistance diterpene-based inhibitors”.
15/12/2020
Virtual Oral presentation at COST Action 17104 (STRATAGEM) WG2 Meeting and International Online Symposium on “Synthesis and nanodelivery strategies for new therapeutic tools against Multidrug Resistant Tumours”.
Part X – Scientific Qualification
12/2019 Qualified Pharmacist at Sapienza - University of Rome
Part XI – Summary of Scientific Achievements
Product type Number Data Base Start End
Papers [international]
6 SCOPUS 2020 2023
Papers [national]
Books [scientific]
Books [teaching]
Posters 5 2020 2024
Conference oral
communications 4 2020 2024
Total Impact factor 30.3
Total Citations 29
Average Citations per Product 4.83
Hirsch (H) index 3
Normalized H index* 1
*H index divided by the academic seniority.
Part XII–Publications
For each publication report title, authors, reference data, journal IF (if applicable), citations, press/media release (if any).
1 2023 Articolo in rivista
Iazzetti A., Allevi D., Calcaterra A., Fabrizi G., Goggiamani A., Mazzoccanti G., Sferrazza A., Verdiglione R. and Vergine V. Highly Efficient and Mild Gold (I) Catalyzed Synthesis of 3,8- Diarylidene-2,7-dioxaspiro[4.4]nonane-1,6-diones.
MOLECULES 2023, 28, 300.
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28010300
Impact factor (2021) =4.927; Q2 Analytical Chemistry; Citazioni (Scopus): 1
2 2022 Review
Tortora C., Pisano L., Vergine V., Ghirga F., Iazzetti A., Calcaterra A., Marković V., Botta B. and Quaglio D. Biosynthesis, and Biological Activity of Diels–Alder Adducts from Morus Genus: An Update.
MOLECULES 2022, 27, 7580.
DOI: 10.3390/molecules27217580
Impact factor (2021) =4.927; Q2 Analytical Chemistry; Citazioni (Scopus): 8
3 2022 Articolo in rivista
Casciaro B., Ghirga F., Cappiello F., Vergine V., Loffredo M.R., Cammarone S., Puglisi E., Tortora C., Quaglio D., Mori M., Botta, B. and Mangoni M.L. The Triprenylated Anthranoid Ferruginin A, a Promising Scaffold for the Development of Novel Antibiotics against Gram- Positive Bacteria.
ANTIBIOTICS, 2022, 11, 84.
DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11010084
Impact factor (2021)= 5.222; Q1 Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics (miscellaneous); Citazioni (Scopus): 1
4 2021 Articolo in rivista
Platella C., Ghirga F., Zizza P., Pompili L., Marzano S., Pagano B., Quaglio D., Vergine V.,
Cammarone S., Botta B., Biroccio A., Mori M. and Montesarchio D.
Identification of Effective Anticancer G-Quadruplex-Targeting Chemotypes through the Exploration of a High Diversity Library of Natural Compounds.
PHARMACEUTICS, 2021, 13, 1611.
DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13101611
Impact factor (2021)= 6.525; Q1 Pharmaceutical Science; Citazioni (Scopus): 15
5 2020 Articolo in rivista
Quaglio D., Mangoni M. L., Stefanelli R., Corradi S., Casciaro B., Vergine V., Lucantoni F., Cavinato L., Cammarone S., Loffredo M. R., Cappiello F., Calcaterra A., Erazo S., Ghirga F., Mori M., Imperi F., Ascenzioni F. and Botta B.
ent-Beyerane Diterpenes as a Key Platform for the Development of ArnT-Mediated Colistin Resistance Inhibitors.
JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, 2020, 85 (16), 10891-10901. DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.0c01459.
Impact factor (2020)= 4.354; Q1 Organic Chemistry;
Citazioni (Scopus): 16
6 2020 Articolo in rivista
Quaglio D., Corradi S., Erazo S., Vergine V., Berardozzi S., Sciubba F., Cappiello F., Crestoni M.E., Ascenzioni F., Imperi F., Delle Monache F., Mori M., Loffredo M.R., Ghirga F., Casciaro B., Botta B. and Mangoni M.L. Structural elucidation and antimicrobial characterization of novel diterpenoids from Fabiana Densa var. ramulosa.
ACS MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS, 11(5), 760-765.
DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.9b00605
Impact factor (2020)= 4.345; Q1 Organic Chemistry; Citazioni (Scopus): 13
Rome, 01/04/2025