School of Pharmacy

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Anna Piccinini

Assistant Professor of Inflammation Biology, Faculty of Science

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Biography

I obtained a master's degree in Pharmacy from the University of Trieste, Italy, in 2003. I completed my PhD with Professor Andreas Kungl at the Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria, in 2007, investigating glycosaminoglycan-mediated regulation of leukocyte extravasation in inflammation (e.g. Koenen et al., Nat Med. 2009; Piccinini et al., J Biol Chem. 2010; Liehn et al., J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010). I undertook postdoctoral training in the lab of Professor Kim Midwood at Imperial College London (2008-2011) and the University of Oxford (2011-2015), focusing on how inflammatory signaling pathways triggered by changes in the extracellular matrix affect chronic autoimmune disorders and uncontrolled inflammation (e.g. Midwood et al., Nat Med. 2009; Goh et al., J Immunol. 2020; Ruhmann et al., Arthritis Rheum. 2012; Piccinini et al., Science Signaling 2016). My work on the role of the extracellular matrix in the immune response to infection (Piccinini el al., Cell Reports 2012) was recognized by the prestigious 'Young Investigator Award' and the invitation to deliver the inaugural 'John Scott Lecture' at the British Society for Matrix Biology meeting in 2013.

In 2015 I moved to the University of Nottingham within the Gene Regulation & RNA Biology Laboratory at the School of Pharmacy and I was awarded an Anne McLaren Fellowship to start my own research group, with a focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which the extracellular matrix and other microenvironmental cues influence innate immune cell phenotype and function. In 2019 I was appointed Assistant Professor in Inflammation Biology.

Expertise Summary

Cell & Molecular Biology; Matrix Biology

Innate Immunity & Inflammation; Toll-like Receptor Signaling

Autoimmunity; Arthritis

microRNA Regulation of Inflammatory Signaling Pathways

Macrophage Fusion & Foreign Body Response

Primary Cell Culture (2D and 3D); Monocytes/Macrophages; Fibroblasts

Cell-based Assays; Immunoassays; RNA Seq; Proteomics

siRNA Technology; CRISPR CAS9 Genome Editing

Extracellular Vesicles Isolation and Characterization

Tenascin-C

miR-155

Teaching Summary

I teach on multiple modules across a number of degree courses offered by the School of Pharmacy.

Pharmaceutical Sciences MSci Degree

  • Biologics (year 3) - Module Convenor (teaching: protein-based biologics)
  • Infection and Immunity (year 2) - Module contributor (teaching: recombinant DNA technology)
  • Research Project (year 3) - Module contributor

M.Pharm. Pharmacy Degree:

  • Endocrine (year 2) - Module contributor (teaching: pharmaceutics)
  • Research Project (year 3) - Module contributor
  • Professional Leadership & Management - Module contributor

Research Summary

Anna Piccinini's research team is based within the Gene Regulation & RNA Biology Laboratory (GRRB). Our research is focused on how the cell microenvironment influences cell phenotype and… read more

School of Pharmacy

University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

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