Cristina Airoldi – short CV
January 2015
Cristina Airoldi
Bergamo, February 13, 1979
via Antonio Gramsci 5/c, 23879, Verderio, LC, ITALY
cell. +39 3287184950
tel. +39 02 6448 3422; 3303
cristina.airoldi@unimib.it
Academic Education and Training

November 2003, MSc in Industrial Biotechnologies at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Department
of Biotechnology and Biosciences (Design and synthesis of new potential Ras inhibitors derived from
carbohydrates, Mentor Prof. F. Nicotra) – final grade: 110/110 magna cum laude

January 2007, PhD in Chemistry at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Biotechnology
and Biosciences (Development of new potential antitumor drugs based on Ras protein inhibition,
Mentor Prof. F. Nicotra)

2005, stage with Prof. J. Jimenez-Barbero (CIB-CSIC, Madrid, Spain)

2006, stage with Prof. H. Molinari (University of Verona).
Employment and Research Experiences
Cristina Airoldi received the degree in Industrial Biotechnology discussing an experimental thesis on the
design and synthesis of bioactive compounds. She further deepened her scientific knowledge and skills
attending a PhD course in Chemistry. During this period, she had the opportunity to complement the
synthetic work with the NMR characterization of the interaction between the potential inhibitors she had
prepared and the target protein. To this purpose, she reached a European leader group in carbohydrateprotein interaction studies (Prof. J. Jimenez-Barbero’s group, CIB, CSIC, Madrid). Having acquired such
new skills, she moved to this new research field, contributing in a fundamental way to the creation and
development of a new bio-NMR laboratory at the Dept. of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of
Milano-Bicocca. Now she is responsible for the scientific activity of this lab and for the maintenances of the
equipment.
From October 1st 2012 she is Assistant Professor of Organic Chemistry at Milano-Bicocca University,
Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences.
Her current scientific interests focus on (1) the NMR spectroscopy characterization of biologically relevant
molecular interactions and recognition processes, with also the support of other techniques, such as circular
dicroism, surface plasmon resonance, mass spectrometry, IR spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, (2)
the NMR spectroscopy conformational analysis of bioactive compounds, (3) the application of NMR
spectroscopy to the identification of metabolic markers of pathologies by metabolomics studies on cells and
biofluids and to the metabolic profiling of food matrices.
The most significant result obtained until now is the development of a new NMR methodology, recently
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Cristina Airoldi – short CV
January 2015
patented, for the characterization of molecular recognition processes working on living cells. This
methodology, combining the use of STD experiment and an HR-MAS probe, improves the versatility of the
STD experiment and expands its use to samples containing living cells deriving from solid tissues.
A second relevant scientific contribution concerns the setup of NMR protocols for the study of the molecular
interaction between amyloid peptide oligomers and their ligands (in particular molecules with antiamyloidogenic properties).
A very recent research field concerns the application of NMR to metabolomics studies on yeast and cancer
cells.
To date, Cristina Airoldi is author of 42 papers on international journals, 4 scientific book chapters, 3
patents, 1 report concerning the ICSU Symposium “Global Scientific Challenges: Perspectives from Young
Scientists”, attended as IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) representative, and
more than 90 communications in national and international meetings, among which 18 oral
communications. She is first author in 15 papers and corresponding author of 8. H-index: 14.
Awards and Honors:

2007: selected as IUPAC representative at the ICSU Symposium “Global Scientific Challenges:
Perspectives from Young Scientists”, April 4-6, Lindau, Germany.

2013: selected for the participation to the 63rd Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting 2013, 30 June – 5
July 2013, Lindau, Germany, (edition dedicated to Chemistry).
In this context she has been also selected by Prof. Wuthrich for an oral communication in his
masterclass titled “Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, Structural Biology and Medical Diagnosis”.

2013: Gastone de Santis Prize, assigned by the Division of Chemistry of Biological Systems of the
Italian Chemical Society.

2014: invited to the Bürgenstock Conference 2014.
Milano, January 13, 2015
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