
Marco De Vivo, PhD
Education
2000 - Laurea (Bachelor and Master) in Chemistry, Dept of Chemistry G. Ciamician, University of Bologna
2004 - PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry - Dept of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Bologna
Education
2000 - Laurea (Bachelor and Master) in Chemistry, Dept of Chemistry G. Ciamician, University of Bologna
2004 - PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry - Dept of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Bologna
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2014 - present Research Lab Director (PI) of the Molecular Modeling & Drug Discovery Lab in IIT
07/2015 - 12/2017, Research Associate to the IAS-5/INM-9 Computational Biomedicine Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany
2009 - 2013 Team Leader, Dept of Drug Discovery and Development, at the Italian Institute of Technology
2007 - 2009 Research Scientist for 27 months - Structure-based drug design group, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals (New Haven, CT-USA)
2004 - 2007 Postdoc for 3 years with Prof. M. L. Klein, at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
2003 Visiting Scientist for 5 months at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
2001 - 2002 Visiting Scientist for 24 months at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste, Italy
2014 - present Research Lab Director (PI) of the Molecular Modeling & Drug Discovery Lab in IIT
07/2015 - 12/2017, Research Associate to the IAS-5/INM-9 Computational Biomedicine Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany
2009 - 2013 Team Leader, Dept of Drug Discovery and Development, at the Italian Institute of Technology
2007 - 2009 Research Scientist for 27 months - Structure-based drug design group, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals (New Haven, CT-USA)
2004 - 2007 Postdoc for 3 years with Prof. M. L. Klein, at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
2003 Visiting Scientist for 5 months at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
2001 - 2002 Visiting Scientist for 24 months at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste, Italy
SHORT BIOGRAPHY
I am Group Leader of the Molecular Modeling & Drug Discovery Lab in IIT.
In my research lines, I pursue my interest in enzymatic catalysis and drug discovery through the application of molecular modeling to study enzymes of pharmaceutical relevance. Toward this end, in our lab we integrate computational and medicinal chemistry to design, synthesize and test novel compounds. Results are fully integrated with structural, biochemical and pharmacological data to characterize function and inhibition of targeted enzymes, and perform structure-based drug discovery of new molecular entities potentially endowed with the desired pharmacological activity.
I joined IIT from the structure-based drug design group of Rib-X Pharmaceuticals (New Haven, CT, USA; Rib-X is now Melinta therapeutics) where I was involved in the design and development of next-generation antibiotics. This company was co-founded by Prof. William L. Jorgensen of Yale University who is a leader in computational drug discovery. The opportunity to satisfy my interest in industrial drug discovery, together with the opportunity to work closely with Prof. Jorgensen’s group in a top level scientific environment, convinced me to join the structure-based drug design group at Rib-X. Under the direct supervision of Rib-X CSO Dr. Erin M. Duffy, I made key contributions to the discovery of novel compounds with antibacterial activity (RX-04 program), coordinating the discovery effort and working in close collaboration with crystallographers, biochemists, medicinal chemists and pharmacologists.
I graduated in Chemistry in 2000 at the University of Bologna, in the group of Prof. Andrea Bottoni. In 2004 I obtained my Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the same institution, under the supervision of Prof. Maurizio Recanatini. During my Ph.D., I spent 2 years at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, in the group of Prof. Paolo Carloni, and few months at the ETH institute in Zurich in the group of Prof. Leonardo Scapozza. My project was focused on the characterization of ligand binding and enzymatic catalysis of protein kinases by means of a variety of computational methods. Then, I was postdoctoral research associate at the Center for Molecular Modeling led by Prof. Michael L. Klein, at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA), for 3 years. During my postdoctoral training, I investigated metalloenzymes of pharmaceutical interest, such as RNase H, with focus on their reactivity and ligand binding.
I am Group Leader of the Molecular Modeling & Drug Discovery Lab in IIT.
In my research lines, I pursue my interest in enzymatic catalysis and drug discovery through the application of molecular modeling to study enzymes of pharmaceutical relevance. Toward this end, in our lab we integrate computational and medicinal chemistry to design, synthesize and test novel compounds. Results are fully integrated with structural, biochemical and pharmacological data to characterize function and inhibition of targeted enzymes, and perform structure-based drug discovery of new molecular entities potentially endowed with the desired pharmacological activity.
I joined IIT from the structure-based drug design group of Rib-X Pharmaceuticals (New Haven, CT, USA; Rib-X is now Melinta therapeutics) where I was involved in the design and development of next-generation antibiotics. This company was co-founded by Prof. William L. Jorgensen of Yale University who is a leader in computational drug discovery. The opportunity to satisfy my interest in industrial drug discovery, together with the opportunity to work closely with Prof. Jorgensen’s group in a top level scientific environment, convinced me to join the structure-based drug design group at Rib-X. Under the direct supervision of Rib-X CSO Dr. Erin M. Duffy, I made key contributions to the discovery of novel compounds with antibacterial activity (RX-04 program), coordinating the discovery effort and working in close collaboration with crystallographers, biochemists, medicinal chemists and pharmacologists.
I graduated in Chemistry in 2000 at the University of Bologna, in the group of Prof. Andrea Bottoni. In 2004 I obtained my Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the same institution, under the supervision of Prof. Maurizio Recanatini. During my Ph.D., I spent 2 years at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, in the group of Prof. Paolo Carloni, and few months at the ETH institute in Zurich in the group of Prof. Leonardo Scapozza. My project was focused on the characterization of ligand binding and enzymatic catalysis of protein kinases by means of a variety of computational methods. Then, I was postdoctoral research associate at the Center for Molecular Modeling led by Prof. Michael L. Klein, at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA), for 3 years. During my postdoctoral training, I investigated metalloenzymes of pharmaceutical interest, such as RNase H, with focus on their reactivity and ligand binding.