Francesco PAPPALARDO
TRAINING
Francesco Pappalardo was born in Catania on 11 March 1975. He graduated in Computer Science with 110/110 cum laude on 2000 at the University of Catania; after graduating, in 2004 he obtained the title of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Computer Science. From 2004 to 2011 he was a research fellow at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Catania. In 2006 he was a visiting researcher at the Molecular Immunogenetics Labs, IMGT in Montpellier (France), while in 2008 he was a visiting researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston (USA).
Francesco Pappalardo is currently full professor of Computer Science at the Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, where he also holds the position of Deputy Director of the Department. He is also adjunct professor at the Boston University and Health Informatics Research Lab, Computer Science Department, and at Menzies Health Institute, Griffith University, Australia.
INSTITUTIONAL TASKS
- Head of the COMBINE Research Group (www.combine-group.org).
- Co-founder of Mimesis SRL (www.mimesis.srl)
- Member of the Faculty Board of the International Doctorate in Basic and Applied Biomedical Science.
- Deputy Director of the Research Center for the Study and Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Tumors (CRS PreDiCT).
- IT teacher for the School of Specialization in Hospital Pharmacy, University of Catania.
- IT teacher for the School of Specialization in Medical Pharmacology, University of Catania.
- IT teacher for the School of Specialization in Microbiology and Virology, University of Catania.
- Lecturer for the School of Specialization in Medical Oncology, University of Catania.
- Lecturer for the CdLM in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies.
- Deputy Director of the Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania
Prof. Francesco Pappalardo also covers these positions:
- Member of European Medicine Agency ESEC of Methodology Working Party.
- Member of the Board of Directors of VPH institute (www.vph-institute.org).
- Effective member of the working party “Roadmap for the adoption of in silico medicine”, Italian Ministry of Health, 2019.
- European Evaluator for the HORIZON 2020 Framework Program.
- European Evaluator for the HORIZON Europe Framework Program.
- Evaluator for The Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), PRIDE funding.
- Evaluator for The William Harvey International Translational Research Academy.
- Evaluator for The Institute for Advanced Study of the University of Strasbourg (USIAS)
- Reviewer for the Evaluation of projects on behalf of the Ministry of Education, University and Research of Italy.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Research activity of Francesco Pappalardo is focused on the application of computational models in the field of systems biomedicine. He is one of the pioneers of in silico trials, where he currently also deals with regulatory aspects with the European authorities.
He has published over 180 articles in international journals and conferences. He serves the scientific community as president and member of the program commissions for prestigious international conferences and is a member of editorial boards for major bioinformatics journals.
FUNDED PROJECTS (SELECTION)
- Unit coordinator for the University of Catania of the “Ecosystem for rapid adoption of modelling and simulation METhods to address regulatory needs in the development of orphan and paediatric medicines (ERAMET)” project, European Commission Project (HORIZON-HLTH-2023-IND-06), Type of action: RIA - Research and Innovation action, CONTRACT No 101137141).
- Unit coordinator for the University of Catania of the “Novel immunotherapies for tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases (ITHEMYC)” project, European Commission Project (HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-two-stage), Type of action: RIA - Research and Innovation action, CONTRACT No 101080462).
- Unit coordinator for University of Catania of the “ECHO-TWIN (Edge-Cloud-HPC Optimized Twins based on Workflow-enhanced Inference Networks)”, finanziato dal Programma Nazionale Ricerca Innovazione e Competitività 2021-2027 (PN RIC 2021-2027).
- Co-Leader Spoke 8 – In Silico Medicine and Omics Data - Programma di ricerca CN00000013 “National Centre for HPC, Big Data and Quantum Computing”.
- Scientific Coordinator of the In Silico World: Lowering barriers to ubiquitous adoption of In Silico Trials (ISW) Project, European Commission Project (RIA: Horizon 2020 - H2020-SC1-DTH-2020-1, CONTRACT No 101016503).
- Unit Coordinator for the University of Catania of the 3TR project, European Commission Project (H2020-JTI-IMI2- 2018-14-two-stage, Type of action: IMI2-RIA - Innovative Medicine Initiative 2 - Research and Innovation action).
- Scientific Coordinator of the STriTuVaD Project, European Commission Project (RIA: Horizon 2020 - H2020-SC1-2017-CNECT-2, CONTRACT No 777123).
- Unit Coordinator for University of Catania of the “Case study on use of NAMs to address PFAS immunotoxicity” project, Funded by European Food Service Authority, CONTRACT no OC/EFSA/SCER/2021/13.
- Member of the Board of IMMUNOGRID, European Commission Project (STREP: FP6-2004-IST-4, CONTRACT No 028069).
- Scientific Responsible for the MUSS project (Sustainable Urban and Infra-urban Mobility) - 2008 Call for Research and Development Programs - Strategic Action of Industrial Mobility Innovation, financed by the Ministry of Economic Development and the European Union. (September 2012 - March 2013).
- Member of PI2S2, Project for the Implementation and Development of an e-Infrastructure in Sicily based on the Grid paradigm, PON project.
- Consultant for the VAIMA project: Evaluation of Immunostimulant Activities of Bioactive Molecules Extracts from Citrus, REGIONAL ASSESSORATE OF PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES, P.O. ERDF 2007/2013 - Axis IV - Measure 4.1.1.1 - Public Notice D.D.G. n. 1703 of 18/06/2010.
- Participant in the DETECH Project: 2008 Call - INDUSTRY 2015 - New Technologies for Made in Italy. Funded by the Ministry of Economic Development.
- Participant in the PON03PE Project 00216 - Telemedicine, Environment and Health (TAS) and Ion Gantry for Handrontherapy (IGH).
Publications record is available from Scopus:
For further information:
The research activity of Francesco Pappalardo is focused on the development and application of advanced computational models in the field of systems biomedicine, with particular emphasis on in silico medicine, agent-based modeling, and biomedical digital twins. He is internationally recognized as one of the pioneers of in silico trials, having significantly contributed to the definition of innovative methodologies for the simulation of immune system dynamics, disease progression, and the virtual assessment of pharmacological and vaccine interventions. His scientific activity integrates mechanistic modeling, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and multi-omics data integration to develop predictive platforms aimed at translational research, drug development, and personalized medicine. In this context, he leads the COMBINE Group research group and coordinates the development of the UISS (Universal Immune System Simulator) platform, which is currently applied across several biomedical domains, including immunology, oncology, neurodegenerative diseases, infectious diseases, and computational vaccinology.
In recent years, his research activity has further expanded toward the regulatory and translational dimensions of in silico medicine and New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), through active collaborations with European institutions and regulatory authorities aimed at fostering the adoption of advanced simulation methodologies within drug development and biomedical evaluation processes. He has served as scientific coordinator and leader in several high-impact European projects, including In Silico World, ITHEMYC, and ERAMET, contributing to the development of digital ecosystems for biomedical modeling, clinical simulation, and the validation of computational approaches in regulatory science. His research is characterized by a strong interdisciplinary and translational orientation, supported by long-standing collaborations with universities, clinical centers, pharmaceutical industries, and international regulatory stakeholders, with the overarching goal of integrating simulation technologies and artificial intelligence into next-generation biomedical and healthcare decision-making processes.