Barbara Stella graduated in 1997 with honors in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology at the University of Turin with experimental research on the preparation and stability study of sterically hindered disulfide cross-linked immunotoxins. She was awarded the prize for the Best Graduation Thesis on Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology of the University of Turin for her graduation academic year. She received her Ph.D. both in Italy and France with a co-tutorial research project between the University of Turin and the University of Paris XI (supervisors: prof. L. Cattel and prof. P. Couvreur), working on the preparation and the active targeting of long-circulating biodegradable nanoparticles for the administration of antitumor drugs. She was awarded the Prix de Thèse de Pharmacotechnie et Pharmaco-chimie from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Paris XI. From 2001 to 2007 she was granted fellowships for continuous full-time research in the Department of Drug Science and Technology of the University of Turin. Moreover, from 1998 she did several internships at the University of Paris XI working on particulate systems for antitumor therapy in the research group led by prof. P. Couvreur.

From 2008 to 2017 she was Assistant Professor in the Department of Drug Science and Technology of the University of Turin. From 2017 she is Associate Professor in the same Department. Her research activity mainly concerns: i) the preparation and characterization of nanocarriers (in particular, lipid and polymer nanoparticles, liposomes) for the delivery of drugs and diagnostic agents; ii) the synthesis and development of squalene bioconjugates for the delivery of active molecules through biocompatible lipid nanoparticles; iii) the association of drugs and nanocarriers to targeting moieties able to specifically recognize antigens expressed on target cell surface to further improve intracellular cell-specific drug delivery; iv) the synthesis and characterization of conjugates of active molecules with proteins and polymers.

She is a member of the Società Italiana di Tecnologia e Legislazione Farmaceutiche (SITELF) and a member of the executive council of the Controlled Release Society (Italy Chapter). She is author of more of 70 papers published in international journals, more of 140 conference abstracts and 4 patents in the field of drug delivery.