Giancarlo Franzese leads the Statistical Physics of Complex Matter group at UB. Ph.D. in Physics with honors, Associate Researcher at several universities (Rome, Boston, Naples), Visiting Professor at prestigious institutions (Boston, Cambridge, Dublin, Beijing, Porto Alegre), he arrived at Barcelona as Ramon y Cajal Researcher and became Tenured Professor in 2008 (Accredited as Full Professor since 2012). Member of the Steering Committee and the Outreach Commission of the UB Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology-IN2UB,  of the International Advisory Board of the European Molecular Liquids Group, he won several prizes (CNR 2000, UB 2012, Royal Society of Chemistry-UK 2012, Campania-Felix 2016) and scientific journals Covers (2007, 2020). He ranks within the Top Scientists in Spain and Italy in Multidisciplinary Physics and gave more than 120 Invited Talks, with more than 100 publications (with 2 Highly Cited Papers in Supercooled Water and 3 in Physics).

Research interests

Giancarlo Franzese develops a multi-scale approach for hydrated NanoBioSystems under realistic conditions (e.g., nanoparticles and protein solutions at physiological conditions over time-scales up to hours). His group combines atomistic simulations of hydrated bio-interfaces (e.g., proteins or membranes) and nano-interfaces (e.g., nanoparticles and nanomaterials) with coarse-grain models for protein folding and design, protein adsorption, aggregation and crystallization, confined complex liquids, and hydrated nano-systems. He collaborates with several experimental groups worldwide. Together they try to find answers for fundamental questions (Why water is so important for life? Which properties make water unique for biological processes?) and applications (What makes a nanoparticle safe-by-design? Can we control protein-aggregations in neurodegenerative diseases? How can we develop NanoMedicine against cancer? How can we improve nano-theranostics?). More about on Twitter @GFranzesePhD.

Keywords

Biological Physics. Biological Water. Bio-Nano Interactions. Protein Folding. Protein Design. Self-Assembly. Complex Liquids. Soft Matter.