FANTACUZZI MARIALUIGIA

Marialuigia Fantacuzzi is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the Department of Pharmacy at the “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara. She has worked there since 2008, first as a researcher and then, from 2025, as an associate professor. She holds a PhD in Drug Science and a cum laude degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology.
Her research covers the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of compounds of pharmaceutical interest that target inflammatory, neurodegenerative, oncological, metabolic and infectious diseases. The main targets studied are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), nitric oxide synthase, aromatase, monoamine oxidase, and human and bacterial carbonic anhydrase. She integrates synthetic chemistry, analytical method development and advanced computational approaches, including docking, pharmacophore modelling, QSAR, molecular dynamics and virtual screening.
She is the author of 78 publications (2004–2026) and has contributed to recent advances in enzyme inhibition, anti-cancer drug design, anti-viral peptides, and multi-target ligands. She has served on the editorial boards of Pharmaceuticals, Drugs and Drug Candidates, and Molecules, and has acted as guest editor for several MDPI special issues on anticancer and computational medicinal chemistry.
Her teaching portfolio includes Pharmaceutical Analysis I, Veterinary Medicines and Plant Protection Products, and Advanced Methods in Drug Design. She has also provided extensive tutoring and supervised over 50 theses. She has also undertaken international teaching activities in Croatia, Portugal and Spain. She has delivered invited lectures at international conferences, including the Global Summit on Breast and Women’s Cancer.
She holds long-standing roles in student guidance and orientation and on institutional committees, representing her department in national and PNRR-funded projects on university–school guidance.