He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry (scholarship holder) in 2016 at the University of Salerno, Italy, where he worked on the synthesis of compounds able to interact with biomolecular targets involved in tumor pathologies. He was also visiting researcher at the Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron in Montpellier, France, where he gained experience in carbohydrate chemistry and sugar functionalization.
In April 2016, he moved to the UK and joined the University of Birmingham as Research Fellow in Organic Chemistry and Bionanotechnology, working on the development of sensing platforms for glycoprotein recognition, with potential applications in the early-stage detection of diseases such as prostate cancer.
He conducted pioneering studies on the binding of glycans with synthetic carbohydrate receptors. In this regard, he also authored a review article highlighting the challenges of glycan recognition (Tommasone et al. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2019, 48, 5488-5508 DOI: 10.1039/c8cs00768c). Moreover, Stefano was responsible for the formal co-supervision of Ph.D. students and the management of the research lab.
He presented his work in several national and international conferences and has published in peer-reviewed journals. One of his articles was published as Very Important Paper (VIP) in the world-leading journal Angewandte Chemie (Tommasone et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 15405-15409 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201508651).
During the years as a researcher spent between a lab bench and a computer screen, Stefano developed a flair for writing and editing, as well as for science communication.
He then decided to hang his lab coat to become a European and International Funding Officer, disseminating funding opportunities and supporting academics in Birmingham with their grant applications. One of the things he enjoys the most is providing feedback on draft proposals, helping to make grant applications stronger and more likely to succeed. His role allows him to have access to top-level research in multiple fields. On top of that, working with AZoLifeSciences allows him to keep updated with the latest advances across different scientific areas.
Since life is not just about science and work, Stefano likes to spend his spare time traveling or playing the guitar. He is also a movie and football addict.