SPECIALE Antonio

Curriculum Vitae
Antonio Speciale

Since 2022 is Associate Professor SSD BIO/14 at the department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Messina.


RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AND BIBLIOMETRIC INFORMATION
Author of more than 80 publications (research articles, book chapters, and reviews) indexed in PubMed, Scopus, and WoS, 15 oral presentations at conferences, and more than 65 conference proceedings.
ORCID number: 0000-0002-6135-3892
(link: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6135-3892)
Source: Scopus (6/6/2023)
Scopus Author ID: 55950056900
(link: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55950056900&eid=2-s2.0-84902570254)
Total Papers: 79
H-Index: 28
Total Citations: 2059


EDUCATION
- 2004. Master degree in Chimica e Tecnologie Farmaceutiche, Università degli studi di Messina, Faculty of Pharmacy (Class of second level degree in pharmacy and industrial pharmacy). Final Grade: 110/110 cum laude. Thesis: “Dental amalgams: in vitro mercury release and its detection in biological samples”. Università degli Studi di Messina

- 2005. Professional certification as Pharmacist. Università degli Studi di Messina

- March 2009. PhD degree in Toxicology, Università degli studi di Messina, Faculty of Pharmacy, with the Thesis “Effects of cyanidin-3-glucoside on cell signaling pathways in vascular endothelium”. Università degli Studi di Messina

- September 2013: Specialist in Pharmacognosy at the Università degli Studi di Messina. Final Grade: 50/50 cum laude. Thesis: “Protective effect of an anthocyanin standardized extract on endothelial cells exposed to hyperoxia: modulation of Nrf2-mediated adaptive response”.


ACADEMIC CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

- 2005: Research activity with the project entitled “Valutazione dell’attività antiossidante di oli essenziali ed estratti di piante officinali coltivate in Sicilia” (Evaluation of the antioxidant activity of essential oils and extracts from medicinal plants cultivated in Sicily) at the Dipartimento Farmaco-Biologico of the Università degli Studi di Messina, with a one-year scholarship.

- 2009: Research activity with the project entitled “Valutazione preclinica di nuove molecole efficaci nel trattamento delle malattie neurodegenerative” (Preclinical evaluation of novel molecules effective in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases) with a one-year scholarship supplied by the “Fondazione Enrico ed Enrica Sovena”

- 2014-2019: Researcher (RTD-A) (SSD BIO/14) at the department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Messina.

- 2019-2022. Researcher (RTD-B) (SSD BIO/14) at the department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Messina.

- Since 2022 is Associate Professor SSD BIO/14 at the department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Messina.



FELLOWSHIP IN FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES
- 2006. Visiting Graduate Research Assistant, at the Pharmacogenetics Working Group, Department of Pharmacy and Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA, carrying out a research project developing a custom DNA microarray for use in clinical trials, entitled: “Developing a custom DNA microarray for use in clinical trials”.
- 2007. Visiting Graduate Research Assistant, at the Pharmacogenetics Working Group, Department of Pharmacy and Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA, carrying out a research project developing a custom DNA microarray for use in clinical trials, entitled: “Warfarin pharmacogenetics: designing a SNP microarray to genotype patients starting warfarin therapy”.


RESPONSIBILITY FOR SCIENTIFIC STUDIES AND RESEARCH

- 2005. Member of the Research Unit of the University Research Program (PRA) Financial Year 2005, ORDINARY project, Scientific Disciplinary Area 05 - Biological Sciences. Title of the research program "In vitro studies on the photoprotective activity of plant substances present in the Mediterranean diet", coordinator Prof. Antonina Saija.

- 2006-07. Member of the Research Unit of the University Research Program (PRA), Financial Years 2006/2007, ORDINARY project, Scientific Disciplinary Area 05 – Biological Sciences. Title of the research program "Characterization of the chemical profile and antioxidant properties of waste products obtained from the transformation of typical products of Sicilian agriculture", coordinator dott. Antonio Tomaino.

- 2009. CoCoCo, Dipartimento di Fisiologia e Farmacologia “Vittorio Erspamer” dell’Università degli Studi di Roma, incarico di collaborazione autonoma di ricerca riguardante lo "Studio di sostanze ad attività antiossidante".

- 2009. CoCoCo, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "Vittorio Erspamer" of the University of Rome, assignment of autonomous research collaboration concerning the "Study of substances with antioxidant activity".

- 2011-12. Member of the former ISPESL research program n. 11 Research line n. 1 "Therapeutic use of narcotic and psychotropic substances and impact on supervision also for the purposes of safety at work".

- 2014. Member of the OU of UniME (Resp. Prof. SAIJA Antonina) of the project "Research and development of nanosystems aimed at targeted drug delivery (TDD) in the oncological field" within the HIPPOCRATES project "Development of micro and nano-technologies and advanced systems for human health” CUP: B61C12000920005 (PON02_00355_2964193).


AWARDS AND RECOGNITION FOR SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY

- Front cover award obtained by the journal "Current Molecular Medicine", for the following publication: - Speciale A, Chirafisi J, Saija A, Cimino F. Nutritional antioxidants and adaptive cell responses: an update. Curr Mol Med. 2011 Dec;11(9):770-89. doi: 10.2174/156652411798062395

- 2012. Travel Grant for participation at the X NATIONAL CONFERENCE "Life Sciences", with the poster entitled "Nrf2 transcription factor activation modulates endothelial inflammatory response triggered by TNF-alpha". Rome, Italy

- 2017. Best Presentation Award for the oral presentation entitled "Dietary Anthocyanins Modulate Redox Signaling in Colonic Cells: A Protective Mechanism for Gut Health" at ICPPNP 2017: 19th International Conference on Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry and Natural Products. London, UK

- 2017. Beneficiary of FFABR (Fondo Finanziamento Attività base di Ricerca) 2017


PARTICIPATION IN EDITORIAL COMMITTEES OF MAGAZINES

- Since 09-11-2016. Editorial Board Member for the journal Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Journal (EDM). ISSN: 2002-7354 (Electronic). Publisher: Sundbyberg, Stockholm, Sweden: Research Open World.

- Since 21-11-2016. Editorial Board Member for the journal Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), ISSN: 2380-2367 (Electronic), Publisher: Apex, N.C.: Cell Med Press, a Division of AIMSCI Scientific Publishing, 2015.

- AD HOC REVIEWER for the following journal international scientific journals: Human and Experimental Toxicology; Minerva Medica; Natural Product Communications; Food Research International; Molecules; Plants; Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry; Genes & Nutrition.

- Since 2017. Member of the teaching staff for the PhD in APPLIED BIOLOGY AND EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE, University of Messina.

- Since 2023. Review Editor for the international scientific journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, section Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery


TEACHING ACTIVITY

- A.Y. 2010/2011, 2018/2019, 2019/2020: Lecturer of the course for the teaching of "Chemotherapy and immunopharmacology" (module of the C.I. of "Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoeconomics - Chemotherapy and immunopharmacology") (SSD BIO-14) (6 CFU), within the Master's Degree Course in Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Messina, with a private law substitute contract.

- 2014: Lecturer of the teaching of "Experimental methodologies for the study of drug-delivery/active ingredient transport and release processes", relating to "Objective 2: Course for expert technologists in the development of enabling nanotechnologies for drug delivery" within the project "Training of skills and professionalism for the development of innovative micro and nano-technologies in the Healthcare sector: biosensors and systems for drug delivery", - HIPPOCRATES - CUP B68J12000370007 - PON identification code 02_00355_2964193, held at the University of Catania.

- A.Y. 2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2017/2018: Lecturer of the teaching of "Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoeconomics" (module of the C.I. of "Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoeconomics - Chemotherapy and Immunopharmacology") (SSD BIO-14) (6 CFU), within the Master's Degree Course in Pharmacy, Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina

- A.Y. 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019: Lecturer of the teaching of "Evidence-Based Pharmacotherapy" (SSD BIO-14) (6 CFU), within the School of Specialization in Hospital Pharmacy, Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina.