Mayol Luciano

Biography

Luciano Mayol was born in Naples in 1950 and graduated in Chemistry in 1973. Since 1990 is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Naples Federico II. During his career he has held several major academic positions as Coordinator of the PhD in Pharmacologically Active Natural Sciences, Director of the Department of Chemistry of Natural Substances, Chemistry Member of the Scientific Commission of the University of Naples Federico II and President of the Degree Course in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology. From November 1, 2006 to December 31, 2012, Prof. Mayol was President of the Pole of Life Sciences and Technologies, one of the three Poles in which the Federico University was organized before the Gelmini Reformation. Since July 2008 Prof. Mayol has been responsible for the Start Cup Campania. In 2009, she was part of a panelinternational expert in evaluating the scientific activity of the CNR Institutes in the Chemical Division. In 2015, she served as Coordinator of an International Panel of Experts for the Evaluation of CNR Institutes in the Department of Chemical Science and Materials Technology. Since February 2013, Prof. Mayol is Director of the University Center for Coordination of Special Projects and Organizational Innovation ( COINOR ) at Federico II University. Since 2009, Prof. Mayol has been a member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts and in 2012 was elected National Member of the National Academy of Sciences, known as the XL. In 2015 he was appointed Honorary Member of the Academy of Sciences of Abruzzo and the Adriatic Regions. During his research, Prof. Mayol spent many periods abroad at highly qualified research facilities ( Medical Research Council, Cambridge, England; European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany; Columbia University, New York, USA , University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA). Prof. Mayol has been coordinator of several MURST projects and is responsible for operating units in projects funded by the CNR. He was National Coordinator of Projects of Relevant National Interest (PRIN) funded by MIUR in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Prof. Mayol's research deals with two main areas: bioactive natural substances from marine organisms; Chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides and analogues and their use for biological and / or chemical-physical studies. In recent years, the research group headed by Prof. Mayol is committed, in particular, to the study of quadruple helix DNA structures. Such conformations are of great interest and interest for a twofold reason. On the one hand, they represent the target of potential drugs, being present in biologically important DNA regions, such as telomeres or regions that regulate the expression of some genes, including human oncogenes. On the other hand, quadruplex structures were found in oligonucleotides (ONs) able to interact with highly specific proteins (aptamers). In this context, Prof. Mayol's team has achieved remarkable results such as the design and synthesis of a completely new class of ON, which, among other things, to predetermine the orientation of the four filaments forming the quadruple helix structure. Very interesting results have also been obtained by studying, by means of nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and circular dichroism, of stable analog quadruplex structures formed and synthesized by ONad hoc .

Research Interest

bioactive natural substances from marine organisms; Chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides and analogues and their use for biological and / or chemical-physical studies.