Francesco Di Virgilio, M.D.

Professor of Clinical Pathology, University of Ferrara, Italy.


Dr. Francesco Di Virgilio received his Medical Degree at the University of Padova in 1979. After 15 months in the Army as a Medical Officer, he moved to the University College London (UCL) to work in the laboratory of Dr. Bastien Gomperts. In 1984 he returned to Padova to take a position as “Ricercatore” (Assistant Professor). In 1986 he moved to Columbia University (New York) to work in the laboratory of Dr. Samuel Silverstein, At the end of 1987, he returned to Padova to take the position of Associate Professor, and finally, he moved to the University of Ferrara where he became Professor of General Pathology, in 1994, and then in 2006 Professor of Clinical Pathology. His main research interests are inflammation and cancer, with particular emphasis on the role played by extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and purinergic receptors.

Funded Research

These projects were made possible from Cure Alzheimer's Fund support.

Selected Publications

These published papers resulted from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund support.

Vultaggio-Poma, V., & Di Virgilio, F. P2 Receptors: Novel Disease Markers and Metabolic Checkpoints in Immune Cells, Biomolecules, July 14, 2022, Read More

Di Virgilio, F., Vultaggio-Poma, V., Falzoni, S., & Giuliani, A. L. Extracellular ATP: A powerful inflammatory mediator in the central nervous system, Neuropharmacology, November 15, 2022, Read More

Di Virgilio, F., Vultaggio-Poma, V., Falzoni, S., & Giuliani, A. L. Extracellular ATP: A powerful inflammatory mediator in the central nervous system, Neuropharmacology, February 15, 2023, Read More

Vultaggio-Poma, V., Scussel Bergamin, L., Falzoni, S., Tarantini, M., Giuliani, A. L., Sandonà, D., Polverino De Laureto, P., & Di Virgilio, F. Fetal bovine serum contains biologically available ATP, Purinergic Signaling, April 19, 2023, Read More

Penolazzi, L., Notarangelo, M. P., Lambertini, E., Vultaggio-Poma, V., Tarantini, M., Di Virgilio, F., & Piva, R. Unorthodox localization of P2X7 receptor in subcellular compartments of skeletal system cells, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, May 4, 2023, Read More

Di Virgilio, F., Vultaggio-Poma, V., Falzoni, S., & Giuliani, A. L. The Coming of Age of the P2X7 Receptor in Diagnostic Medicine, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, May 30, 2023, Read More