Dr. Andrea Cignarella obtained his master degree in Medicinal Chemistry and Technology from the University of Milan in 1990 studying the role of the urokinase system in tumor cell invasion. He then joined the Department of Pharmacological Sciences at the University of Milan, where he received his PhD in Pharmacology of natural compounds in 1994. Dr. Cignarella went on to train as a Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor G. Assmann at the University of Münster, Germany until 1998. He next returned to the Department of Pharmacological Sciences as a research associate and was appointed as an Assistant professor of Pharmacology at the University of Padova in 2004, where he joined the Department of Pharmacology and Anesthesiology. In 2010 he was appointed Associate professor at the same institution. In 2010 he spent 6 months at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle as a Fulbright Research Scholar.

RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Dr Cignarella’s main research areas focus on the molecular pharmacology of macrophage lipid trafficking and anti-inflammatory activity of intracellular receptor ligands in vascular cells. He has been working for more than 15 years in the field of cardiovascular pharmacology, with special emphasis on thrombosis, lipid trafficking and modulation of inflammatory responses in the vascular wall. Recently, he reported that the anti-inflammatory action of estrogen in vascular smooth muscle cells is blunted in vessels from diabetic rats. This effect is associated with a relative increase in the levels of the isoform ERβ. His current research focuses on pharmacological targeting of human macrophage polarized activation. He has carried out several projects in collaboration with research groups based in Italy and abroad.

PUBLICATIONS AND EDITORIAL ACTIVITY
Dr Cignarella is author of 70 original and review articles, 3 book chapters and 3 congress proceedings that have been cited 1665 times as of March 2019. He organized and chaired a symposium at the Experimental Biology meeting (Washington DC) 2011. He has been member of the local organizing committee for the XV International symposium on Drugs affecting lipid metabolism (Venice 2004) and acted as abstract grader for the XVI symposium of the same series (New York 2007). He collaborated with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for revision of the International Position Paper on Women's Health and Menopause - A Comprehensive Approach issued by the US National Institutes of Health in 2002. He has served as reviewer for over 50 international peer-reviewed journals. He is member of the Editorial Board of Atherosclerosis, PLOS One, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Italian Journal of Gender Medicine.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
– Lectures, seminars and courses in Pharmacology and related subjects (Doping agents, Pharmacovigilance, Pharmacognosy) for undergraduate, master and PhD students: School of Pharmacy, University of Milan (1998-2004; 2008-2010), School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine, University of Padova (2004-now)
– Faculty Member, PhD school in Pharmacological sciences, University of Padova (2005-now)
– Board Member: PhD in Physiopathology of Menopause, University of Milan (2004), PhD in Pharmacological and Toxicological Sciences, University of Milan (2011, 2014, 2019), PhD in Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Parma (2013)

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