Meet the researchers, clinicians, and scientific collaborators whose work has advanced the understanding of bergamot polyphenols and their potential health applications.
Professor Mollace earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Messina in 1983 and completed his residency in Cardiology at the University of Milan in 1987.
From 1988 to 2002, he served as Assistant Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the Universities of Milan and Rome “Tor Vergata.” He later served as Full Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Roma Tre from 2002 to 2014.
Professor Mollace served as Dean of Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Catanzaro from 2002 to 2016. He currently directs the Research Center for Food Safety and Health at UMG, where nutraceutical research is a primary focus.
Professor Mollace has authored more than 200 full-text scientific papers in leading journals, with extensive work in pharmacology and nutraceutical research.
Elzbieta Janda studied Molecular Biology at Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland, and earned her PhD in Biochemistry from the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna in 2002. Her postdoctoral work at UMG included collaboration with the Imperial Cancer Research Foundation in London and further specialization in signal transduction.
Since 2008, Janda has served as Assistant Professor and Lecturer in Pharmacology at UMG. Her research expertise includes the molecular pharmacology of bergamot flavonoids, autophagy and the cellular signaling pathways influenced by these compounds.
Her work has investigated the effects of Bergamot Polyphenol Fraction on liver metabolism and inflammatory processes, including its ability to promote autophagy through AMPK activation and NQO2 inhibition. Her research group also identified BPF components involved in autophagy modulation and examined the activity of the complete bergamot phytocomplex compared with isolated flavonoids.
Janda is the leading author of eight scientific papers focused on the pharmacological and molecular effects of bergamot polyphenols, in addition to publications examining autophagy, phagocytosis and their pharmacological modulation.
