FOCHER Federico: born in Cremona (Italy) on March 16th, 1957.
Citizenship: Italy, 27100 Pavia

Education:
1976 Diploma di Maturità Classica. Cremona, Italy.
1980 Laurea cum laude in Scienze Biologiche, University of Pavia, Italy.
1983 Advanced Studies in Genetics cum laude. University of Pavia, Italy.
1976-1982 During the University studies, fellow of the University College Ghislieri in Pavia, Italy.

Professional positions:

1981-1984 Fellow of the University of Pavia at the Department of Genetics and Microbiology of the University of Pavia, Italy.
1985-1986 Fellow of the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC) at the Istituto di Genetica Biochimica ed Evoluzionistica (IGBE), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Pavia, Italy.
1986-1998 Researcher at the Istituto di Genetica Biochimica ed Evoluzionistica (IGBE), CNR, Pavia, Italy.
1987-1988 Visiting scientist at the Institut für Pharmakologie und Biochemie, Universität Zürich-Irchel, Zürich, Switzerland (Prof. U. Hübscher).
1989 Visiting scientist at the Institut für Pharmakologie und Biochemie, Universität Zürich-Irchel, Zürich, Switzerland (Prof. U. Hübscher).
1993 Visiting scientist at the Dept. of Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, MA, USA (Prof. G. E. Wright).
1998-2001 Senior Researcher at the Istituto di Genetica Molecolare (IGM), CNR, Pavia, Italy.
2001-present Director of Research at the Istituto di Genetica Molecolare (IGM), CNR, Pavia, Italy.


P.I. in the following Research projects:

1991-1993 - CNR Project RAISA on the control of animal diseases.
1992-2005 - CNR ordinary research program: "DNA enzymology: precursors and DNA synthesis" at IGM-CNR, Pavia.
1992-1997 - Partner in two NATO Projects (USA/Italy).
1995-1997 - AIRC Project: Novel anticancer drugs. Inhibitors of human and viral uracil-DNA glycosylase, dUTPase and thymidine kinase.
2003-2006 - FIRB Project on HCV infection RBNE01J3SK_003.
2004-2007 - FIRB Project "Research, development and mechanism of action of potential therapeutical agents against Hepatitis C virus" RBAU01LSR4_001.


Collaborator in the following Research projects (a short selection):

1990-93 - Research project IMI between IGM and Farmitalia C. Erba.
1990-93 - Research project IMI between IGM and Menarini Ricerche.
2001-2004 - Partner in the project EU "Flavitherapeutics" QLK3-2001-00506.
2003-2010 - Scientific consultant in three "Small Business Innovation Research Programs" by NIH.


Author or co-author of 84 papers listed in PubMed, author of 3 books (La Venere fisica di Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, Ibis, 2003; L'uomo che gettò nel panico Darwin. La vita e le scoperte di Alfred Russel Wallace, Bollati-Boringhieri, 2006; e Alexander von Humboldt. Schizzo biografico dal vivo, Il Prato, 2009). Co-inventor of a patent on L-nucleosides (CNR/Menarini n°22032A/90: L-2'-deoxyuridines and related pharmaceutical compositions).

Study of human, bacterial, protozoal and viral enzymes as potential targets of novel compounds acting as antiproliferative drugs

We focus our attention on cloning, purification and characterisation of human, bacterial, viral and protozoal enzymes involved in DNA replication and, therefore, potential targets of antiproliferative drugs.

We study the mechanism of action of novel inhibitors of DNA replication in order to use them to control abnormal cell proliferation (cancer), and viral, protozoal and bacterial infections (herpesviruses, E. histolytica, C. difficile, ecc.).

1: Butini S, Gemma S, Brindisi M, Borrelli G, Fiorini I, Samuele A, Karytinos A, Facchini M, Lossani A, Zanoli S, Campiani G, Novellino E, Focher F, Maga G. Enantioselective binding of second generation pyrrolobenzoxazepinones to the catalytic ternary complex of HIV-1 RT wild-type and L100I and K103N drug resistant mutants. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2011 Jul 1;21(13):3935-8.

2: Butini S, Gemma S, Brindisi M, Borrelli G, Lossani A, Ponte AM, Torti A, Maga G, Marinelli L, La Pietra V, Fiorini I, Lamponi S, Campiani G, Zisterer DM, Nathwani SM, Sartini S, La Motta C, Da Settimo F, Novellino E, Focher F. Non-nucleoside inhibitors of human adenosine kinase: synthesis, molecular modeling, and biological studies. J Med Chem. 2011 Mar 10;54(5):1401-20.

3: Gebhardt BM, Focher F, Eberle R, Manikowski A, Wright GE. Effect of combinations of antiviral drugs on herpes simplex encephalitis. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2009 Dec 29;3:289-94.

4: Lossani A, Torti A, Gatti S, Bruno A, Maserati R, Wright GE, Focher F. Thymidine kinase and uridine-cytidine kinase from Entamoeba histolytica: cloning,characterization, and search for specific inhibitors. Parasitology. 2009 May;136(6):595-602.

5: Focher F, Lossani A, Verri A, Spadari S, Maioli A, Gambino JJ, Wright GE, Eberle R, Black DH, Medveczky P, Medveczky M, Shugar D. Sensitivity of monkey B virus (Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1) to antiviral drugs: role of thymidine kinase in antiviral activities of substrate analogs and acyclonucleosides. AntimicrobnAgents Chemother. 2007 Jun;51(6):2028-34.

6: Turriziani O, Pagnotti P, Pierangeli A, Focher F, Baranello C, Bellomi F, Falasca F, Morgan J, Schuetz JD, Antonelli G. The effects of prolonged treatment with zidovudine, lamivudine, and abacavir on a T-lymphoblastoid cell line. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2006 Oct;22(10):960-7.

7: Semeraro T, Lossani A, Botta M, Ghiron C, Alvarez R, Manetti F, Mugnaini C, Valensin S, Focher F, Corelli F. Simplified analogues of immucillin-G retain potent human purine nucleoside phosphorylase inhibitory activity. J Med Chem. 2006 Oct 5;49(20):6037-45.

8: Spadari S, Maga G, Verri A, Focher F. Molecular basis for the antiviral and anticancer activities of unnatural L-beta-nucleosides. Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 1998 Aug;7(8):1285-300.

9: Verri A, Focher F, Tettamanti G, Grazioli V. Two-step genetic screening of thrombophilia by pyrosequencing. Clin Chem. 2005 Jul;51(7):1282-4.

10: Manikowski A, Verri A, Lossani A, Gebhardt BM, Gambino J, Focher F, Spadari S, Wright GE. Inhibition of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinases by 2-phenylamino-6-oxopurines and related compounds: structure-activity relationships and antiherpetic activity in vivo. J Med Chem. 2005 Jun 2;48(11):3919-29.

No projects are available to students for the current accademic year.