Curriculum Vitae
Education

Degree

Date    

Place

Laurea (DVM Degree)

1992

Anatomy Department
School of Veterinary Medicine
University of Perugia
Perugia, Italy

Intensive Post Graduate Course In Clinical Veterinary Medicine Part I + Part III

1994

The Animal Medical Center USA
510 East 62nd Street
New York, NY 10021, U.S.A.

Residency Program in Veterinary Oncology

1994-1996

North Carolina State University
4700 Hillsborough Street
Raleigh, NC 27606, U.S.A.

Staging at Institut Gustave- Roussy
for Cancer Research to learn square
pulses electrochemotherapy

1996

39 Rue Camille Desmoulin 94800
Villejuif Val-de-Marne, France

Staging at the Centre of Biomedical
Engineering to learn biphasic pulses
electrochemotherapy

1999

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
1113 Acad G. Bonchev Str
Sofia, Bulgaria

Ph D (Electrochemotherapy)

2004- 2006

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Institute of Experimental
Pathology and Parasitology
1113 Acad G. Bonchev Str
Sofia, Bulgaria

Diplomate American College of
Veterinary Internal Medicine,
Specialty of Oncology

2006

American College of Veterinary
Internal Medicine
1997 Wadsworth Blvd, Suite A
Lakewood, CO 80214-5293, U.S.A.

Diplomate European College of
Internal Medicine – Companion
Animals, Specialty of  Oncology

2006

 

 

 


Professional Experience

Position

Date

Place

Free lance veterinarian at  Ambulatorio Veterinario Associato Dr. Aleandri & C.

January 1993-January 1994

Via Caselli 51, Rome
Italy

Free lance veterinary oncologist

January 1997-todate

4 Veterinary practices and 1 Clinic in Rome, Italy

Veterinary Oncology Consultant and Responsible for  laboratory animal welfare

January 1997-todate

Regina Elena Cancer Institute
Via delle Messi d’ Oro, 156
00158 Rome, Italy

Veterinary Oncology Consultant at National Research Council

January 1999-March 2001

CNR
Viale Marx 186
Rome,  Italy

Veterinary Oncology Consultant and Responsible for  laboratory animal welfare at the animal facility

September 2001- December 2001

Istituto di Ricerche di Biologia Molecolare P. Angeletti (Merck Group)
Via Pontina Km 30,600
00040 Pomezia (Rome), Italy

Contract researcher

January 2001- to date

Regina Elena Cancer Institute
Via delle Messi d’ Oro, 156
00158 Rome,  Italy

 

.

Research Interest
  •  Use of intralesional chemotherapy and local hyperthermia for the treatment of unresectable canine and feline tumors.
  • Investigation of pulse mediated chemotherapy (electrochemotherapy) for the treatment of down staged tumors in companion animals.
  • Evaluation of adjuvant electrochemotherapy (ECT) for the treatment of incompletely excised tumors in pets.
  • Collaboration with the National Cancer Institute and the Center of Biomedical Engineering of Sofia, Bulgaria for the development of new drug delivery systems and new protocols to be adopted for humans. Fifty human patients treated to date on the basis of canine-derived protocols.
  • Collaboration with Prof. A.Baldi (II University of Neaples, Faculty of Medicine) for the investigation of new protocols in a canine mesothelioma model.
  • Identification of novel antiangiogenesis drugs for the treatment of canine hemangiosarcoma.
  • Identification of novel compound to be used as chemosensitizers for electrochemotherapy. Studies performed on rodents and pets.
  • Histopatological and ultrastructural (freeze-fracturing, SEM, TEM electron microscopy) categorization of electrochemotherapy induced modifications. Identification of possible prognostic patterns.
  • Characterization of patters of electropermeabilization of human and pet neoplasms to develop novel protocols aimed at improving the delivery of DNA plasmids and oligoantisense molecules.
  • Development of novel clinical electroporation equipments as well as electrodes to be used in clinical settings.
  • Investigation of electrochemotherapy and electrogenetherapy as a palliative therapy for advanced malignant mesothelioma.
  • Study of different chemotherapy protocols for the treatment of advanced prostatic carcinoma.
  • Development of mathematical models for the study of electrochemotherapy in rodents and pet
  • Use of proton pump inhibitors as chemosensitizers
Experience in Drug Development

Collaboration with the Centre of Biomedical Engineering, Sofia, BG

  • Evaluation of Chemopulse equipment for the treatment of advanced cancer in pets.
  • Development of modified needle and caliper electrodes for electrochemotherapy of the oral district. Validation in pet models. Currently adopted by the division of head and neck cancer therapy of Sofia, BG.
  • Assessment of the therapeutic potential of hyaluronidase to ensure a more uniform drug disposition and an homogeneous electrical field for electrochemotherapy.

 

Collaboration with the Regina Elena Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy

  • Investigation of the efficacy of bleomycin as an agent suitable for electrochemotherapy in companion animals. The drug has been tested in cats with soft tissue sarcomas and dogs with malignant melanoma.
  • Platinum-based electrochemotherapy for the rescue and first protocol in cats and dogs with advanced neoplasms.
  • Development of novel delivery systems (and their combinations) for DNA plasmids and oligoantisense.
Professional Recognition
  • July 2006, Member of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Specialty of Oncology.
  • September 2006, Member of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ECVIM-CA), Specialty of Oncology.
  • January 2006, Board Member of the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research.
  • December 2007, Member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian Endometriosis Foundation.
  • August 2008, Board Member of The Open Drug Resistance Journal.
Scientific Journal Reviewer
  • Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research
  • British Journal of Cancer
  • International Journal of Cancer
  • Melanoma Research
  • Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
  • Veterinary Research and Communications
  • International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics
  • Journal of Veterinary Science
  • Microscopy Research and Technique
  • Expert review of Anticancer Therapy
  • Veterinarni medicina
  • The Open Drug Resistance Journal
  • Journal of small animal practice

.

Lectures and Proceedings
July 1999

Companion Animals with advanced neoplasms as a model for their human counterparts.

National Cancer Institute
Sofia, Bulgaria

September 2002

Electrochemotherapy of Companion Animals with advanced neoplasms.

Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Illinois, Urbana
U.S.A.

September 2002

Combined surgery and electrochemotherapy for the treatment of feline sarcomas.

22nd Veterinary Cancer Society Annual Conference, 2002
New York, NY, U.S.A.

December 2002

Spontaneous cancer models: the role of companion animals

Regina Elena Cancer Institute
Rome, Italy

January 2003

Spontaneous cancer models: the role of companion animals

University of Salerno
Faculty of Pharmacology
Salerno, Italy

April 2003

Tumors in domestic animals as a model for humans: contribution to the development of novel electrochemotherapy protocols

Pascale Cancer Institute
Naples,  Italy

May 2003

Myeloproliferative Syndromes in dogs and cats

Course of hematology for Veterinarian
Medical History Academy
Rome, Italy

May 2004

Development of chemotherapy protocols in companion animals: preclinical and epidemiological implications.

Workshop Veterinary Epidemiology: state of the art and novel trends. National Institute of Health,
Rome, Italy

December 2004

Animal models of apoptosis-mediated antitumor therapy (electrochemotherapy) and their translation to humans

Yearly symposium ONLUS-AICC (Italian branch of the European Tissue Culture Society)
Naples, Italy

December 2004

Feline and canine lymphoma and leukemias: what’s new

Continuing Education Course for Veterinarians
Rome, Italy

February 2005

Transition from laboratory to clinical application of a novel apoptosis-mediated cancer destruction technique.

The IIar Preclinical/clinical interface conference.
Amsterdam, The Netherland

April 2005

Spontaneous neoplasms of pets: a preclinical model to develop and test novel therapeutic strategies

Oncology Seminars
University Campus Biomedico
Rome, Italy

September 2005

Analysis of COX-2 involvement in the pathogenesis and therapy of human mesothelioma
A. Baldi, E.P. Spugnini, et al.

National Congress SIAPEC-IAP
Chieti, Italy

October 2005

Use of the HIV protease inhibitor indinavir to block hepatocarcinoma growth in nude mice. V. Esposito, A. Baldi, E. Spugnini, V. Montesarchio, A.M. Groeger, A. De Luca, E. Palescandolo, G. Cortese, A. Chirianni (Naples, Italy) (15´).

The International Institute of Anticancer Research, yearly conference, Rome, Italy

December 2005

Delivery of anticancer drugs through biphasic pulses as a rescue for advanced tumors: first results in companion animals

Workshop Mechanisms of chemoresistance and radioresistance in tumor cells. National Institute of Health,
Rom, Italy

October 2006

Feline and canine sarcomas: diagnosis, prognosis and treatment

Veterinary Association of Viterbo, Italy

May 2007

Electrochemotherapy of solid tumors: an update on a novel anticancer therapy

Swiss Association of Small Animals Veterinarians

June 2007

Pulse-Mediated chemotherapy of solid tumors (electrochemotherapy): recent developments of a novel anticancer therapy

25th Annual ACVIM Meeting
Seattle, USA

June 2007

Oncology in companion animals: what’s new?

Yearly AVULP (Association Veterinary Practitioners of Umbria) meeting

January 2008

Pre-Clinical Models in Oncology

Presentation to the Scientific Advisory Board of the Regina Elena Cancer Insitute

February 2008

Pulse-Mediated chemotherapy of solid tumors (electrochemotherapy): recent developments of a novel anticancer therapy

University of Glasgow (UK), Small Animal Hospital

March 2008

Adjuvant CDDP-based electrochemotherapy for the treatment of incompletely excised mast cell tumors in dogs

1st Worldvet cancer Meeting
February 28th-March 1st
Copenhagen (DK)

May 2008

Electrochemotherapy: indirect evidence of involvement of the immune system. Preliminary findings from animal studies.

International Symposium “Immunotherapy of cancer – clinical results and future goals”
May 8 and 9, 2008, Sofia, Bulgaria

October 2008

Electrochemotherapy for the treatment of mast cell tumors in dogs

Meeting Sioncovet
October 12, 13, 2008, Cremona, Italy

October 2008

Pulse-Mediated chemotherapy of solid tumors in pets (electrochemotherapy): recent developments of a novel anticancer therapy

8th IIAR International Conference of Anticancer Research

March 2009

Research in animal models for endometriosis

High Tech in endometriosis and infertility
March4 , 2009, Rome
Italy

March 2009

Molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis and progression in malignant mesothelioma: possible therapeutic applications from animal studies

University of Glasgow (UK), Small Animal Hospital

June 2009

Evaluation of Cisplatin (CDDP) as a electrochemotherapy agent for the treatment of incopletely excised mast cell tumors in Dogs

27th Annual ACVIM Meeting, 3-6 June 2009, Montreal, Canada

September 2009

Adnexial tumors of companion animals as a model for humans: results in the field of electrochemotherapy

Preclinical Oncology Models: scientific, technical and ethical
Aspects. September 20-21 2009, Genova, Italy

April 2010

Preclinical models in biomedicine, biomechanical prosthesis, ultrasonography, and electrochemotherapy in animals.

Centre of Biomedical Engineering “Ivan Daskalov”
Sofia
Bulgaria

April 2010

Pulse-mediated chemotherapy of solid tumors in pets (electrochemotherapy): recent developments of a novel anticancer therapy

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Sofia
Bulgaria

June 2010

Pulse-Mediated Chemotherapy Of Solid Tumors (Electrochemotherapy): Recent Developments Of A Novel Anticancer Therapy

ACVIM 2010 Forum
Anaheim
USA

September 2010

Proton pump inhibitors as anti vacuolar-ATPases drugs: preliminary findings in companion animals with spontaneous neoplasms

ISPDC Meeting

September 27, 28
Rome
Italy

November 2010

Paraneoplastic syndromes and oncology emergencies

AMVAC Meeting

November 12, 13

Sinaia
Romania

 

November 2010

Update on mast cell tumors in dogs and cats

AMVAC Meeting

November 12, 13

Sinaia

Romania

November 2010

Electrochemotherapy and electrogenetherapy: new approaches in anti-cancer therapy in cats and dogs

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

University of Gent

Gent

Belgium

December 2010

Chemotherapy and tumor vaccine in veterinary oncology

Workshop “Human and veterinary oncology: comparative aspects and future applications”

December 3, 2010

Faculty of Medicine
University of Tor Vergata
Rome
Italy

May 2011 Novel strategies to modulate cancer microenvironment (tumor acidity) increasing chemo-response: electroporation and proton pump inhibitors Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
University of Nottingham 
Nottingham
UK 
June 2011 Anti vacuolar-ATPases drugs: a novel anticancer strategy 29th Annual ACVIM Meeting, 15-18 June 2011,
Denver,
USA
June 2011 Electrochemotherapy: protocol considerations & research summary 29th Annual ACVIM Meeting, 3-6 June 2011,
Denver,
USA
November 2011 Electroporation enhances bleomycin efficacy in a spontaneous feline head and neck carcinoma model XXVII European Federation Congress of the International College of Surgeons, 11-12 November 2011,
Rome,
Italy
March 2012 Electroporation enhances bleomycin efficacy in cats with advanced head and neck carcinoma 2nd World Veterinary Cancer Congress March 1-3 2012, Paris, France