Prof. Anna Laurenzana is an Assistant Professor of General Pathology at the Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences (DSBSC), University of Florence, where she also heads the Nanomedicine Laboratory. She holds National Academic Qualifications as Associate Professor in General and Clinical Pathology, Applied Biology, and Applied Medical Technologies. She has an extensive background in oncology, molecular biology and development of potential drugs capable of reprogramming gene expression in cancer cells. She graduated summa cum laude in Biological Sciences from the University of Florence in 2000 and obtained her PhD in Clinical and Experimental Oncology in 2004. During her PhD, she focused on uncovering molecular mechanisms driving cancer progression, ultimately patenting a novel class of Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors designed for the treatment of both hematological malignancies and solid tumors[EP2231623B1, US 8,324,202 B2]. Following her doctoral studies, she conducted postdoctoral research at McGill University in Montreal from 2004 to 2007, where she received significant funding from the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Strategic Training Program for her pioneering work in cancer epigenetics.

In the last decade her research has focused increasingly on tumor angiogenesis and the intricate interactions within the tumor microenvironment. Merging her expertise in molecular biology with advances in nanotechnology, Prof. Laurenzana has spearheaded innovative projects that combine cell-based therapies with plasmonic nanoparticles, culminating in a patent on Cells loaded with gold nanoparticles for use in the diagnosis and/or treatment of melanoma [EP 3452099B1; US 12,064,492 B2].  She serves as the principal investigator for several research projects, including the coordination of a highly interdisciplinary study on the thermoablation of melanoma and mammary carcinoma using injected nanoparticles in combination with radiotherapy, supported by the Tuscany Region’s Health Research Initiative (751.656 Euro). She is also actively engaged in several European research initiatives, including COST Actions such as “Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Magnetic Hyperthermia and Indirect Radiation Therapy (RADIOMAG)” (2014-2018), “Cancer Nanomedicine from Bench to Bedside” (Nano2clinic, 2019-2022), and the European Research Network on Signal Transduction (ERNEST, 2019-2022). She is co-author of 80 papers.