Curriculum
Beatrice Vallone – Curriculum Vitae
Work experience
Dates 03/2017-05/2017 Visiting Professor at Columbia University (New York USA)
01/2016-06/2016 Alexander Bodini Research Fellow at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America – Columbia University (USA)
07/2014 - 06/2015 Research Scholar at Columbia University (New York USA)
2009-present Full Professor - Sapienza University of Rome
2000-2007 Associate Professor - Sapienza University of Rome
1991-1999: Staff Scientist - Sapienza University of Rome
Position held Full Professor, BIO10 (Italian Ministry Discipline Group: Biochemistry and Biophysics).
Main activities and responsibilities -Director of the H2CU Interuniversity Center for International Training
-Member of the Advisory Committee for the CNR Cryo-EM Facility, 2018
-Member of the PSI-FELLOW program II 3i Advisory Board
-Member of the Biological Macromolecules Commission of the International Union of Crystallography 2017-2022
-Chair of the committee “Biological Macromolecules” for the Italian Elettra Synchrotron 2017-Present
-Member of the Executive Committee of the Italian Society for Synchrotron Light (SILS) 2013-2017
-Head of the CNR Biocrystal Facility (www.biocrystalfacility.it) 2012-2016
-Member of the ESRF User Organizazion Committee 2010-2014
-Editorial Board “AIMS Biophysics” 2017-present
-Review Editor Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences – Structural Biology 2014-present
Honors:
EMBO Member since 2022
Schaefer Research Scholar at Columbia Medical Center (2014) Visiting professor from July 2014 to July 2015.
“Alexander Bodini” Research Fellow at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia (2016)
Short Fellowships.
1988 Geneva University (CH) sponsored by EMBO- Dept. of Biochemistry (Prof.S.J. Edelstein) 1990 LMB-MRC, Cambridge (UK) sponsored by EMBO (Dr. K. Nagai)
1991 LMB-MRC, Cambridge (UK) sponsored by FEBS (Dr. G. Fermi).
1997 York University, Dept. of Biochemistry (UK) sponsored by FEBS (Prof. J. Tame) 2004 Cambridge University, Dept. of Biochemistry, (UK) sponsored by EMBO (Prof. B. Luisi)
Appointments:
Coordinates the Structural Biology group of the Department of Biochemical Sciences “A. Rossi Fanelli ”(Sapienza-DSB), (PO Biochemistry, BIO / 10). Author of around 90 scientific publications in the field of biochemistry and structural biology, she worked at the Molecular Biology Laboratory of the Medical Research Council (LMB-MRC, Cambridge, UK), the University of York (UK), Cambridge (UK) ), the University of Geneva (CH) and Columbia University (NY, USA) where he received the prestigious Schaefer Scholarship in 2014.
Member of the "Macromolecules" commission of the International Union of Crystallography and was elected member of the European Organization for Molecular Biology (EMBO) in 2020. She coordinated two European projects (ITN-MSCA and RISE-MSCA) focused on structural biology, leading two consortia of 10 international partners including universities, research institutions, large pharmaceutical industries (AstraZeneca) and SMEs.
Since 1 November he has been Director of the H2CU "Honors Center of Italian Universities" Interuniversity Center for International Training, which brings together 21 Italian Universities and 3 CNR institutes for the development of joint academic and research programs abroad.
Research:
Main research fields: structural biology and biochemistry. The mechanism of action of proteins was investigated by protein crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy and biochemical characterization. This included the structure-function relationship of enzymes and transporters as well as their role within signalling networks that involves protein-protein recognition and complex formation. The knowledge of the molecular mechanism exploited by proteins to carry out their function and involved in pathological processes is the starting point to design novel, targeted therapeutic strategies. Protein characterization was carried out using a wide array of methods (kinetics, protein engineering, spectroscopy).
1. Complex of plasma proteins with their receptors (haptoglobin, ferritin and LDL-receptor related protein)
2. Steroid 5-a dehydrogenase membrane enzymes
3. Alsin ALS-2 GEF in collaboration with the Politecnico of Turin, with the support of a Telethon Grant
4. SARS-COV-2 antibodies for diagnostics and therapy in collaboration with Takis Biotech with the support of grants from Regione Lazio, joint-lab in the Rome Technopole context.
Recent Grants as PI or OU Leader.
- PRIN 2022 Unraveling The moonLIghtinG AcTivity of the PFKFB bIfunctiOnal eNzyme with phospholipase C-gamma (LIGATION)” O.U. Leader
-Regione Lazio Bando “Coronavirus ed oltre” Project Generas (GENErazione di proteine Ricombinanti e Anticorpi e per lo studio di mutanti del virus SARS-CoV-2) in collaboration with Takis Biotech.
-EU H2020 (2018-23) Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research And Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) “ProMeTeus - Membrane protein integrated technologies development for drug design” (Coordinator).
-EU H2020 (2014-18) Innovative Training Network “X-Probe” on frontier methods in protein structural dynamics (Coordinator).
-Fondazione Cenci-Bolognetti/Pasteur Institute Grant (2013-16) “Bacterial P450 Cytochromes as tools for designing novel antimicrobial agents” (PI)
-University of Rome “La Sapienza” (2012) "Espansione multidisciplinare della biologia strutturale verso una dimensione di facility: sistema di imaging per screening di cristallizzazione di proteine." (PI)
-CNR, Life Sciences Dept. “Biocrystal Facility of the CNR” (2012-15) Coordinator.
-VII Framework Program (2008)– EU – "CryoEm structure of gamma secretase: a key component in Alzheimer neurodegenerative disease"- Scientist in Charge.
Reviewer Activity.
MSCA Actions, European research Council, Swiss Excellence Program, French CNRS, Italian Ministry of Education and Research (MIUR) Young Researchers Excellence Program, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Excellence Projects, French Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale
Selected publications
1. Freda I, Exertier C, Barile A, Chaves-Sanjuan A, Vega MV, Isupov MN, Harmer NJ, Gugole E, Swuec P, Bolognesi M, Scipioni A, Savino C, Di Salvo ML, Contestabile R, Vallone B, Tramonti A, Montemiglio LC. Structural insights into the DNA recognition mechanism by the bacterial transcription factor PdxR. Nucleic Acids Res. 2023 Aug 25;51(15):8237-8254.
2. Maffei M, Montemiglio LC, Vitagliano G, Fedele L, Sellathurai S, Bucci F, Compagnone M, Chiarini V, Exertier C, Muzi A, Roscilli G, Vallone B, Marra E. The Nuts and Bolts of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Receptor-Binding Domain Heterologous Expression. Biomolecules. 2021 Dec 2;11(12):1812.
3. Montemiglio LC, Testi C, Ceci P, Falvo E, Martina M, Savino C, Arcovito A, Peruzzi G, Baiocco P, Mancia F, Boffi A, des Georges A, Vallone B. Cryo-EM structure of the human Ferritin-Transferrin Receptor 1 complex. Nat Commun. 2019 Mar 8;10(1):1121.
4. Exertier C, Sebastiani F, Freda I, Gugole E, Cerutti G, Parisi G, Vallone B. Probing the Role of Murine Neuroglobin CDloop-D-Helix Unit in CO Ligand Binding and Structural Dynamics. ACS Chem Biol. 2022 Aug 19;17(8):2099-2108.
5. Exertier, C., Milazzo, L., Freda, I., Montemiglio, L.C., Scaglione, A., Cerutti, G., Parisi, G., Anselmi, M., Smulevich, G., Savino, C., Vallone, B. Proximal and distal control for ligand binding in neuroglobin: role of the CD loop and evidence for His64 gating (2019) Scientific Reports, 9 (1), art. no. 5326.
6. Scaglione A, Celeste Montemiglio L, Parisi G, Asteriti IA, Bruni R, Cerutti G, Testi C, Savino C, Mancia F, Lavia P and Vallone B. Biochimie Open (2017) Subcellular localization of the five members of the human steroid 5α−reductase family. Vol. 4 pp. 99-106.
7. de Turris V, Cardoso Trabuco M, Peruzzi G, Boffi A, Testi C, Vallone B, Celeste Montemiglio L, Georges AD, Calisti L, Benni I, Bonamore A, Baiocco P. Nanoscale. (2017) Humanized archaeal ferritin as a tool for cell targeted delivery. Vol. 9 pp.647-655.
8. Savino C, Montemiglio LC, Sciara G, Miele AE, Kendrew SG, Jemth P, Gianni S, Vallone B. (2009). Investigating the structural plasticity of a cytochrome P450: three-dimensional structures of P450 EryK and binding to its physiological substrate. J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 284; p. 29170-9-29179.
9. Renzi F, Caffarelli E, Laneve P, Bozzoni I, Brunori M, Vallone B. (2006). The structure of the endoribonuclease XendoU: From small nucleolar RNA processing to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus replication. Prof. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, vol. 103; p. 12365-12370.
10. Brunori M, Giuffrè A, Nienhaus K, Nienhaus GU, Scandurra FM, Vallone B. (2005). Neuroglobin, nitric oxide, and oxygen: functional pathways and conformational changes. Prof. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 102; p. 8483-8488.
11. Vallone B., Nienhaus K, Matthes A, Brunori M, Nienhaus GU. (2004). The structure of carbonmonoxy neuroglobin reveals a heme-sliding mechanism for control of ligand affinity. Prof. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 101; p. 17351-17356.
12. Bourgeois D, Vallone B., SchotteF, Arcovito A, Miele AE, Sciara G, Wulff M, Anfinrud P, Brunori M. (2003). Complex landscape of protein structural dynamics unveiled by nanosecond Laue crystallography. Prof. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 100; p. 8615-8617.