GEMMA SANDRA

Professor Gemma's research activity is primarily focused on the design, synthesis, and optimization of therapeutic tools for the treatment of various pathological conditions. For many years, her research has been centered around identifying antiviral and antiparasitic agents through various design strategies, such as synthesizing and modifying natural compounds, structure-based drug design, and developing synthetic methodologies for compound libraries to study structure-activity relationships.

Research topics

In her pursuit of advancing treatment against Leishmania, Professor Gemma is engaged in the design and synthesis of novel trypanothione reductase inhibitors. These inhibitors hold the potential to combat the Leishmania parasite effectively and offer new therapeutic avenues for addressing this disease.

Additionally, she is actively involved in the development of new antivirals, specifically focusing on synthesizing SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitors. These antivirals play a critical role in combatting the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic and may contribute significantly to global health efforts.

Furthermore, Professor Gemma's research delves into combating ESKAPE pathogens, which are known for their resistance to multiple antibiotics. Her work revolves around identifying and designing new structural scaffolds that can interfere with quorum sensing mechanisms in these pathogens, offering potential breakthroughs in combating antibiotic-resistant infections.

Synthetic chemistry

Throughout my years of research activity, I have cultivated a strong foundation and expertise in organic chemistry. Whenever required for medicinal chemistry projects, I have successfully devised appropriate synthetic strategies for the stereoselective preparation of natural compounds, including dihydroplakortin and its epimers and lophirone A. Additionally, I have undertaken the synthesis of analogues of natural alkaloids like huperzine A, and I have also developed synthetic methodologies to create specific heterocyclic scaffolds such as benzodiazepines, benzoxazepines, peroxides, and quinolines with precise decoration patterns.