Short Bio
I am Full Professor of Computer Science at University of Catania.
I got my Laurea degree (summa cum laude, 1999), my PhD (2003),
and my post-doc (2004) in Computer Science from the University of Catania.
From 2005 to 2014, I've been Assistant Professor at the University of Catania.
From 2014 to 2023, I've been Associate Professor at the University of Catania.
I also spent several periods of research at Courant Institute of Mathematical Science, NYU (NY), and at the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OH).
My research interests mainly focuses on bioinformatics and biomedicine. In particular, I study of the phenomenon of RNA interference (microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs), through stochastic and network based inference methods; the sub-graph matching and motif finding, also approximated, with applications to biological networks; the multiple network alignment through Monte Carlo Methods; the development of robust methods for the pathway-based analysis of RNA-seq data.
I also collaborate with the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV, sezione di Catania) for the analysis of temporal time series of seismic and infrasonic signals.
I have served as PC member of many International Conferences. I have been guest editor on BMC Bioinformatics, Briefings in Bioinformatics and Information Systems Elsevier.
I coordinate the Bioinformatcs section of Clinical and Experimental Medicine. My group is currently composed by myself (group leader), 3 researchers (1 RTDb, 2 RDTa), 1 post-doc, 3 Ph.D. Students in Complex Systems. I lead national and regional research projects in the field of Bioinformatics and Big Data in Cancer.
I teach in serveral undergraduated courses at University of Catania, during my carreer I have teached more than 500CFU.
A detailed cv (in italian) can be found here.
