University

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3323-9344

Alfio Distefano is a biologist specializing in biochemistry and biomolecular science, with extensive experience in the study of cellular toxicity mechanisms, redox status, and inflammation.

He earned a Master’s Degree in Biological Sciences and, subsequently, an International Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Catania. His doctoral research focused on the biochemical comparison of the toxic effects of traditional cigarette smoke and heated tobacco products on the function of human microglial cells.

Previously, he served as a Research Fellow at the Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences (BIOMETEC) at the same university, where she studied the effect of natural compounds on intrahepatic lipid metabolism. At the same institution, he also served as a Research Fellow, focusing on the biochemical mechanisms of inflammation in the presence of sepsis.

He has actively participated in the scientific activities of leading research groups characterized by prestigious national and international collaborations. Among the most notable are the global “International Replica Study” project for the toxicological validation of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), the collaboration with King Saud University on hepatic steatosis, and the work with the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia.

In the academic and teaching area, he has served as a teaching assistant in university laboratories and has mentored numerous students as a co-advisor for experimental theses in the undergraduate programs in Pharmacy, Medicine and Surgery, Biological Sciences, and Biotechnology. He has also actively contributed to the organization of major scientific conferences in the fields of tumor biochemistry and molecular medicine.

His scientific activity is enriched a strong international presence, with 59 peer-reviewed publications indexed in global databases, which have garnered over 1.245 citations, resulting in an h-index of 22 (source: Scopus). He is an active member of the Italian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SIB) and was a member of the prestigious American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).

Curriculum Vitae