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Rita Grandori

Associate Professor
Piazza della Scienza 2 , 20126 Milan, Italy
tel./fax: +39 02 64483363 / +39 02 64483565
e-mail: rita.grandori@unimib.it
web page: http://www.btbs.unimib.it/

Academic career

1984: Master degree in Biology, University of Milan, I
1985-1989: PhD school in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Milan, I
1989-1991: Specialization school in Biotechnology, University of Milan, I
1990-1991: Visiting research associate, EMBL biocomputing group, Heidelberg, D
1992-1996: Postdoc, Chemistry Dep., Princeton University, NJ
1996: Research Staff Member, Chemistry Dep., Princeton University, NJ
1997: Visiting research associate, CAME Inst., University of Salzburg, A
1998-2000: Visiting research associate, Inst. of Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, A
2000-2002: Project leader, Inst. of Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, A
2002: Habilitation in Protein Science, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, A
2002-2005: Group leader, Inst. of Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, A
2005: Associate Professor in Biochemistry, Dep. of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, I

Teaching

1999-2005: "Protein Engineering", degree in Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, A
1999-present: "Computational Biochemistry of Proteins", degree in Bioinformatics, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, I.
2002-2004: "Protein Structure Prediction", Master School of Bioinformatics, University of Milano-Bicocca, I
2003-present: "Protein Science", Johannes Kepler University, Linz, A.
2004-present: "Protein mass spectrometry", PhD School in Physics and Chemistry of Biological Systems, SISSA, Trieste, I
2005-present: "Biochemical Methods", degree in Biotechnology, University of Milano-Bicocca, I
2007-present: "Industrial Biochemistry", degree in Biotechnology, University of Milano-Bicocca, I

Research

Protein folding, misfolding and aggregation
Intrinsically disordered proteins
Amyloidogenic proteins
Protein-ligand and protein-protein interactions
Modularity in protein structure and function
Protein engineering
Electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS)
Conformational effects in protein ESI-MS
Non-covalent interactions in the gas phase
Mechanism of protein ionization by electrospray
Proteomics for systems biology
Protein structure prediction

Main publications

• Šamalikova M., Santambrogio C. and Grandori R. (2010)
  “Mass-spectometry tools for the investigation of structural disorder and conformational transitions in proteins” in “Assessing structures and conformations of intrinsically disordered proteins – instrumental foundation of experimental unfoldomics” Uversky V. and Longhi S. (Eds.), Wiley and Sons. In press.
  
• Brocca S., Šamalíková M., Uversky V.N., Lotti M., Vanoni M., Alberghina L. and Grandori R. (2009)
  “Order propensity of an intrinsically disordered protein, the cyclin-dependent-kinase inhibitor Sic1”
  Proteins: Struct. Funct. Bioinf. 76, 731-746.
  
• Papaleo E., Mereghetti P., Fantucci P., Grandori R. and De Gioia L. (2009)
  “Free energy landscape, principal component analysis, and structural clustering to identify representative conformations from Molecular Dynamics simulations: the myoglobin case.”
  J. Mol. Graph. Model. 27, 889-899.
  
• Invernizzi G., Casiraghi L., Grandori R. and Lotti M. (2009)
  “Deactivation and unfolding are uncoupled in a bacterial lipase exposed to heat, low pH and organic solvents”
  J. Biotechnol. 141, 42-46.
  
• Invernizzi G., Papaleo E., Grandori R., De Gioia L. and Lotti M. (2009)
  “Relevance of metal ions for lipase stability: Structural rearrangements induced in the Burkholderia glumae lipase by calcium depletion”
  J Struct Biol. 168, 562-570.
  
• Wolfova J., Smatanova I.K., Brynda J., Mesters J.R., Lapkouski M., Kuty M., Natalello A., Chatterjee N., Chern S.Y., Ebbel E., Ricci A., Grandori R., Ettrich R. and Carey J. (2009)
  “Structural organization of WrbA in apo- and holoprotein crystals”
  Biochim Biophys Acta. 1794, 1288-1298.
  
• Grandori R., Santambrogio C., Brocca S., Invernizzi G. and Lotti M. (2009)
  “Electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry as a tool for fast screening of protein structural properties”
  Biotechnol. J. 4, 73-87.
  
• Ji H.F., Shen L., Grandori R. and Müller N. (2008)
  “The effect of heme on the conformational stability of micro-myoglobin”
  FEBS J 275, 89-96.
  
• Santambrogio C. and Grandori R. (2008)
  “Monitoring the Tanford transition in beta-lactoglobulin by 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate and mass spectrometry”.
  Rapid Comm. Mass Spectrom. 22, 4049-4054.
  
• Natalello A., Doglia S.M., Carey J. and Grandori R. (2007)
  “Role of flavin mononucleotide in thermostability and oligomerization of Escherichia coli stress-defense protein WrbA”
  Biochemistry, 46, 543-553.
  
• Invernizzi G. and Grandori R. (2007)
  “Detection of the equilibrium folding intermediate of beta-lactoglobulin in the presence of trifluoroethanol by mass spectrometry”
  Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 21, 1049-1052.
  
• Wolfova J., Mesters J.R., Brynda J., Grandori R., Natalello A., Carey J. and Smatanova I.K. (2007)
  “Crystallization and preliminary diffraction analysis of Escherichia coli WrbA in complex with its cofactor flavin mononucleotide”
  Acta Crystallogr. Sect. F Struct. Biol. Cryst. Commun. 63, 571-575.
  
• Carey J., Brynda J., Wolfova J., Grandori R., Gustavsson T., Ettrich R. and Smatanova I.K. (2007)
  “WrbA bridges bacterial flavodoxins and eukaryotic NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductases”
  Protein Sci. 16, 2301-2305.
  
• Invernizzi G., Natalello A., Šamalikova M. and Grandori R. (2007)
  “Protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions studied by electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry”
  Protein and Peptide Letters 14, 894-902.
  
• Invernizzi G., Šamalikova M., Brocca S., Lotti M., Molinari H. and Grandori R. (2006)
  "Comparison of bovine and porcine beta-lactoglobulin: a mass spectrometric analysis"
  J. Mass Spectrom. 41, 717-727.
  
• Nöll G., Kozma E., Grandori R., Carey J., Schödl T., Hauska G. and Daub J. (2006)
  "Spectroelectrochemical investigation of a flavoprotein with a flavin-modified gold electrod"
  Langmuir 22, 2378-2383.
  
• Šamalikova M., Carey J. and Grandori R. (2005)
  "Assembly of the hexameric Escherichia coli arginine repressor investigated by nano-electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry"
  Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 19, 2549-2552.
  
• Šamalikova M. and Grandori R. (2005)
  "Testing the role of solvent surface tension in protein ionization by electrospray"
  J. Mass Spectrom. 40, 503-510.
  
• Youhnovski N., Matečko I., Šamalikova M. and Grandori R. (2005)
  "Characterisation of cytochrome c unfolding by nano-electrospray-ionization and Time of Flight- Fouriertransform-ion cyclotron resonance- mass spectrometry"
  Eur. J. Mass Spectrom. 11, 519-524.
  
• Wolfova J., Grandori R., Kozma E., Chatterjee N., Carey J. and Kuta Smatanova I. (2005)
  "Crystallization of the flavoprotein WrbA optimized by using additives and gels"
  J. Crystal Growth 284, 502-505.