Francesco Bifari

Francesco graduated magna cum laude from the Medical School of the University of Milan. During his studies, he carried out research activities at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (TIGET) in Milan and at the Department of Biosciences at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Francesco then earned a specialization degree in in Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases from the University Hospital of Verona, devoting himself to clinical activity. After this experience of clinical practice, Francesco resumed his research activity, obtaining a PhD in Translational Medicine, Biology and Clinical Applications of Stem Cells at the University of Verona, where he also worked on the development of protocols for the clinical use of mesenchymal stem cells. Thanks to an European Union grant, Francesco worked for 4 years at the VIB Research Center of Leuven (Belgium), where, beside deepening his knowledge on angiogenesis, tumor biology, and cellular metabolism, he was able to study neurogenesis and neural stem cell. Following this experience, he returned to Italy at the Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine of the University of Milan, where he directs the Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Regenerative Medicine and is Associate Professor of Pharmacology. His research group works on the development of innovative methods to promote tissue regeneration, in particular of neural tissue. He was awarded numerous national and international awards. Francesco is recognized by his colleagues as a creative and highly motivated scientist, able to carry out ambitious and innovative research projects using original solutions and creating efficient and multidisciplinary working groups, with a proven ability to achieve successful results on schedule, even when working under pressure and under unexpected conditions.