Phd in PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES

email: stefania.petralito@uniroma1.it
phone: 3479435844
building: CU019
room: 259

Prof. Stefania Petralito graduated cum laude in Pharmacy in July 1997 from Sapienza University of Rome. In the same year, she obtained her license to practice as a pharmacist and was awarded a PhD fellowship in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Biologically Active Substances, Sapienza University of Rome, where she earned the title of Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences after three years of study.

In 2000, she received a scholarship for the Postgraduate School of Hospital Pharmacy at Sapienza University of Rome, from which she graduated cum laude in 2003.

She has served as a Research Fellow, Confirmed Researcher until 2023, and currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology, Socioeconomics, and Legislation of Medicines and Health Products at the Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome.

Institutional Roles and Responsibilities

Prof. Petralito currently holds the following academic and institutional appointments:

• 
  Director of the Advanced Training Course “The Role of the Pharmacist in the Management of the Dermatological Patient: The Dermocosmetic Advice as a Support in the Therapy of the Most Common Skin Conditions”, established by the Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology (Resolution of June 26, 2024; renewed on July 24, 2025).


• 
  Member of the Doctoral Board in Pharmaceutical Sciences.


• 
  Member of the Scientific-Teaching Committees of the following Second-Level Master’s Programs at Sapienza University of Rome:
  
  
  
  • 
    Compounding of Magistral Formulations for Human and Veterinary Use
  
  
  • 
    Industrial Pharmaceutical Methodologies
  
  
  • 
    Integrated Medicine
  
  
  
  


• 
  Lecturer in the Second-Level Master’s Program in Pharmaceutical and Health Law.


• 
  Seminar lecturer for PhD students in Pharmaceutical Sciences – Stimuli-Responsive Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery (8 hours, first semester).


• 
  Member of the Teaching Council and Lecturer of the Postgraduate School in Hospital Pharmacy.


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  Member of the Teaching Committees for the Pharmacy and Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences (SFA) degree programs.


• 
  Member of the Internship and Professional Qualification Committees for the Pharmacy and CTF (Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology) degree programs.


• 
  Academic Tutor for pharmacy students during their professional internships.


• 
  Member of the Examination Board for the recognition of professional pharmacist qualifications obtained abroad (Agreement between the Italian Ministry of Health and Sapienza University of Rome).


• 
  Member of the Third Mission Committee and of the Library Committee of the Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology.

Previous academic roles include:

• 
  Member of the Transfer and Admissions Committee of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine (until 2021).


• 
  Member of the Quality Assurance Management Committee (CGAQ) of the MSc in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (until 2015).


• 
  Elected member of the Department Council (2020–2023) and of the Faculty Council (2020–2023).


• 
  Member of selection and evaluation committees for PhD programs, Postgraduate Schools, and Master’s degrees.


• 
  Member of the State Examination Board for pharmacist qualification.


• 
  Lecturer in the Advanced Training Course for the Professional Pharmacist Qualification.


• 
  Member of Organizing Committees for conferences and doctoral schools.

 

Professional and Public Engagement

Prof. Petralito served on the Cosmetics and Innovation Committee of the Order of Pharmacists of Rome, coordinated by Dr. Gelsomina Perri (until 2024). The Committee’s activities, periodically published on the Order’s website, aimed to promote scientific outreach in line with the goals of the Third Mission.

She also chaired the examination committee for a public competition for the recruitment of three hospital pharmacists (AST Municipality of Palombara Sabina, Public Notice No. 01/2019, Protocol No. 04 of January 15, 2019).

She has served as lecturer in Continuing Medical Education (CME/ECM) courses for pharmacists.

 

Teaching and Student Supervision

Prof. Petralito has supervised over 60 undergraduate theses (experimental and theoretical) in Pharmacy, Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology, Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Sapienza University of Rome. Many of these theses were developed in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, research institutes, and the Italian Ministry of Health, including:

• 
  Janssen-Cilag (Johnson & Johnson Group, Latina Plant)


• 
  Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (IRCCS), Rome


• 
  ASL RM4 Hospital Pharmacy, Civitavecchia


• 
  Ministry of Health – Directorate-General for Medical Devices and Pharmaceutical Services

She has supervised 12 postgraduate theses in Hospital Pharmacy and 4 PhD theses, including:

• 
  Dr. Romina Spera (Cycle XXIX) – Research on Hybrid Liposomes-Based Drug Delivery Systems


• 
  Dr. Martina Nardoni (Cycle XXXI) – Investigation on Smart Triggers and Smart Lipid Vesicles as New Tools for Drug Delivery Applications (Recipient of the Young Scientist Travel Grant by CRS / Best PhD Thesis in Pharmaceutical Sciences – CRS Italy Chapter)


• 
  Dr. Jordan Trilli (Cycle XXXIV) – Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery


• 
  Dr. Barbara Bigi (Cycle XXXVIII)

She supervises research fellows, guiding their scientific and training activities within her research projects.

She has also supervised visiting students, including:

• 
  Dr. Camila Cardador, CONFAP Mobility – Italian University Call Project


• 
  Dr. Michaela Du Toit, Erasmus Student, School of Pharmacy, King’s College London

 

Teaching Activity

• 
  Currently teaches the following courses at Sapienza University of Rome:


• 
  Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation – Conventional Dosage Forms and Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Compounding (14 CFU) – Degree in Pharmacy


• 
  Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation of Medicinal, Cosmetic, and Health Products (6 CFU) – BSc in Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences


• 
  Quality Management Systems (2 CFU) – Postgraduate School in Hospital Pharmacy


• 
  Nanosystems for Diagnostics and Pharmaceutical Technology II – MSc in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology (CTF)

 

Research Activity

Prof. Petralito’s research focuses on the characterization and formulation of lipid-based carriers for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food applications, with specific expertise in liposomal vesicular systems.

Her research findings have been presented at national and international conferences (oral and poster presentations) and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

She is the author of 56 publications indexed in Scopus (H-index: 22), as well as several book chapters, including:

• 
  Encapsulation of Essential Oils within Lipid-Based Formulations for Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity, in Terpenes: Medicinal Chemistry Lessons from Nature (Bentham Science, 2023).


• 
  Apparent Solubility and Dissolution Profile at Non-Sink Conditions as Quality Improvement Tools, in Promising Pharmaceuticals (InTech, 2012).


• 
  Modulazione del rilascio di farmaci da liposomi termosensibili, in Nuove frontiere di applicazione dell'ingegneria chimica (CUES, 2004).


• 
  Liposome–Surfactant Interactions at Sublytic Surfactant Concentration, in Recent Research and Development in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Research Signpost, 2003).


• 
  Gel in Cosmetica and Veicoli Cosmetici, in Manuale di Scienze e Tecnologie Cosmetologiche (ARACNE, 2005).


• 
  Contributor to Chapter 9 of Tecnologia Farmaceutica, edited by Paolo Caliceti (Casa Editrice Ambrosiana).

 

Editorial and Scientific Activities

Prof. Petralito served as Editor of the Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923) Special Issue “Polymeric Thin Films as an Emerging Formulation Approach for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Applications” (2021) and as Guest Co-Editor of the Molecules Special Issue “Understanding the Impact of Reactive Coatings to Create Multi-Functional Surfaces in Polymeric Scaffolds” (2021).

She has been a member of the Editorial Board of Pharmaceutics since 2024.

 

Research Projects and Collaborations

Prof. Petralito has participated in and coordinated research projects funded by Sapienza University and the Italian Ministry of Health.She currently serves as Scientific Coordinator of two collaboration agreements between the Ministry of Health – Directorate General for Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals and the Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology, aimed at supporting non-tenured research staff through research fellowships.

 

Membership in Professional and Scientific Societies

• 
  Controlled Release Society (CRS) – Italy Chapter


• 
  SITELF – Italian Society of Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation


• 
  SCI – Italian Chemical Society


• 
  Order of Pharmacists of the Province of Rome