Phd in MOLECULAR DESIGN AND CHARACTERIZATION FOR THE
PROMOTION OF HEALTH AND WELL-BEING: FROM DRUG TO FOOD

email: giovanna.poce@uniroma1.it
phone: +39 06 4991 3892
building: CU019
room: 202

Education - 10/03/2008 Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sapienza University of Rome - 18/03/2004 Master's Degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technologies, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sapienza University of Rome T Academic Appointments 15/02/2021 - present, Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drugs, Sapienza University of Rome 15/02/2019 - 14/02/2021, Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drugs, Sapienza University of Rome 01/10/2014 - 14/02/2019, Researcher, Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drugs, Sapienza University of Rome 01/10/2013 - 30/09/2014, Research Assistant, Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drugs, Sapienza University of Rome 01/11/2007 - 30/09/2013, Post-doc, Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drugs, Sapienza University of Rome Post-doc 03/08/2016 - 30/08/2016, Visiting Academic, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa. 20/10/2010 - 30/08/2012, Visiting Scientist, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, USA. 06/04/2009 - 30/10/2009, Academic Visitor, Department of Chemistry, Oxford University, UK. 06/12/2023 - 06/12/2034, Appointed Full Professor in Medicinal chemistry, MIUR: ASN 21/01/2015 - 21/01/2021, Appointed Associated Professor in Medicinal chemistry, MIUR: ASN Teaching experience 03/2015 - present, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, course: Drug Analysis I. 03/2021 - present, CCL Bioinformatics, Sapienza University of Rome, course: Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Research Activities: Design, synthesis and characterization of small molecules active against M. tuberculosis hitting novel targets: MmpL3, iron chelation, tryptophan biosynthetic pathway. Hit-to-Lead development. Design, synthesis and characterization of small molecules as malaria transmission-blokers. BM212 drug target identification and validation: generation of resistant mutants, whole genome sequencing and development of assays that selectively access mycolates on the surface of M. smegmatis spheroplasts demonstrated that BM212 binds MmpL3 and inhibits flipping of mycolic acids across the inner membrane. PZP drug target identification and validation: generation of resistant mutants, whole genome sequencing, RNA extraction and quantitative RT-PCR, ESI-MS studies and UV-Vis titration of PZP with Fe2+ demonstrated that PZP enters mycobacterial cells and chelates Fe2+ and starves the bacteria for intracellular iron. Design, synthesis and characterization of small molecules active against Leishmania donovani. Selected conference communications/seminars: Poce, G. Small molecules as enabling tools to advance antimicrobial research. Drug discovery & screening symposium from bench to drug discover, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, December 7, 2023. (Keynote_Invited speaker) -Poce, G. Simple Chemistries as Enabling Tool for Advancing TB and Cancer Research. Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, August 24, 2016. (Seminar) -Poce, G. Towards Tuberculosis Treatment with Next Generation BM635 Analogues. NPCF8, Parma, June 09-11, 2014. (Oral Communication) -Poce, G. Towards Tuberculosis Treatment with Novel MmpL3 Inhibitors. Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, March 18, 2014. (Seminar) -Poce, G. MmpL3 Inhibitors Enabling New Possibilities for TB Treatment. XXII National Meeting on Medicinal Chemistry, Rome, September 10-13, 2013. (Oral communication) -Poce, G. BM212-Derived MmpL3 Inhibitors Enabling New Possibilities for the Treatment of TB. Tuberculosis Drug Development, Gordon Research Conference, Barga (LU), July 21-26, 2013. (Keynote_Invited speaker) -Poce, G. Hit-to-Lead Development for a New Class of Anti-Mycobacterial Agents. Tres Cantos Open Lab Foundation, Tres Cantos, Spain, June 10, 2013. (Keynote_Invited speaker) -Poce, G.; Porretta, G. C; De Logu, A.; De Rossi, E.; Rubin, E.J.; Ballel, L.; Botta, M.; Biava, M. 1,5-Diphenyl Pyrrolesas New Antimycobacterial Agents. Hit-to-lead Development and Target Validation. COST Action MeetingCM0801, Siena, May 30 – June 5, 2012. (Short oral communication) -Poce, G. Identification of a New Chemical Series of Potent Antimycobacterial Compounds. XX National Meeting on Medicinal Chemistry, Abano Terme, September 12-16, 2010. (Oral communication) -Biava, M.; Porretta, G.C.; Poce, G.; De Logu, A.; Manetti, F.; Botta, M. New Pyrrole Derivatives of BM212: a New Class of Antimycobacterial Agents. Design, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Study of Their Mode of Action. NPCFIII, Pisa, February 13-14, 2009. (Oral communication) Invitation for writing review and perspectives: -Poce, G.; Consalvi, S.; Biava, M. MmpL3 Inhibitors: Diverse Chemical Scaffolds Inhibit the Same Target. Mini Rev. Med. Chem. 2016, 16, 1274-1283. -Poce, G.; Biava, M. Overcoming Drug Resistance for Tuberculosis. Future Microbiol. 2015, 10, 1735–1741. -Poce, G.; Porretta, G. C.; Biava, M. C-9 Alkenylidine Bridged Macrolides: WO2008061189. Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Expert Opin. Ther. Pat. 2009, 19, 901-6. Session Chairman: Session: Alternative Approaches to Target ID and Drug Discovery. Tuberculosis Drug Development, Gordon-Kenan Research Seminar, Barga (LU), July 20-21, 2013. Collaborations: - Prof Flaminia Catteruccia, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA. - Prof Eric J. Rubin, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA. - Prof Varpu Marjomäki, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. - Prof Sarah Butcher, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Finland. - Prof Musa Mhlanga, Department of Cell Biology, Radboud University, The Netherland. - Prof Kelly Chibale, Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, South Africa. - Dr Fabrice Agou, Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, Institut Pasteur, France.