Biography
Antonio Benedetto, born in Padua (Italy) in August 1984, is a young PI and Assistant Professor in Experimental Physics with interest in biophysics and neutron scattering instrumentation. In 2011, he obtained his Ph.D. in Physics (University of Messina, Italy) defending a thesis on protein dynamics, which experimental component has been carried out at the Institute Laue-Langevin (Grenoble, France). His results confirmed the existence of a fragile-to-strong dynamical crossover in protein hydration water. In 2012, supported by an Individual Endeavour Research Fellowship of the Australian Government, he moved to “Oz”, joining the University of Sydney and the Bragg Institute. It was back at that time that he started to work on the development of a new neutron method for dynamics based on “elastic scattering”, which now is receiving the attention of few neutron large-scale facilities. Since 2013, supported by few individual fellowships and starting-type research grants (including two Marie-Curie fellowships) he has been carrying out his independent research activity at the University College Dublin (Ireland), the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland), and the University of Roma Tre (Italy). Since few years, the main focus of his research is the study of the interaction of ionic liquids with biomolecules and cells by means of neutron scattering, atomic force microscopy, computer simulations and few other complementary approaches. As an invited scientist, he regularly visits several of the largest neutron scattering facilities worldwide (i.e. ILL, ISIS, MLZ, NIST, SNS).
Antonio Benedetto, born in Padua (Italy) in August 1984, is a young PI and Assistant Professor in Experimental Physics with interest in biophysics and neutron scattering instrumentation. In 2011, he obtained his Ph.D. in Physics (University of Messina, Italy) defending a thesis on protein dynamics, which experimental component has been carried out at the Institute Laue-Langevin (Grenoble, France). His results confirmed the existence of a fragile-to-strong dynamical crossover in protein hydration water. In 2012, supported by an Individual Endeavour Research Fellowship of the Australian Government, he moved to “Oz”, joining the University of Sydney and the Bragg Institute. It was back at that time that he started to work on the development of a new neutron method for dynamics based on “elastic scattering”, which now is receiving the attention of few neutron large-scale facilities. Since 2013, supported by few individual fellowships and starting-type research grants (including two Marie-Curie fellowships) he has been carrying out his independent research activity at the University College Dublin (Ireland), the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland), and the University of Roma Tre (Italy). Since few years, the main focus of his research is the study of the interaction of ionic liquids with biomolecules and cells by means of neutron scattering, atomic force microscopy, computer simulations and few other complementary approaches. As an invited scientist, he regularly visits several of the largest neutron scattering facilities worldwide (i.e. ILL, ISIS, MLZ, NIST, SNS).
Awards:
- “Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting Awards 2016” by the Irish Research Council (October 2016, Dublin);
- “EBSA Bursary” awarded in 2015 by the European Biophysical Societies’ Association;
- “Borsellino-Menestrina Prize” awarded in 2012 by the Pure and Applied Italian Biophysical Society to the best PhD Thesis in Italy in the field of Biophysics;
- Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Medicine, University of Sydney (Australia);
- “Giovanni Semerano Prize” awarded in 2011 by the Italian Chemical Society for the best PhD thesis in Italy in the field of physical-chemistry;
- “Scientist Travel Award”, 2011 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics;
- “Gilberto Bernardini Prize” “excellence in research” awarded in 2008 by the Italian Physics Society;
- “Galluzzi Prize for Physics” (2007) awarded by the University of Roma Tre for research;
- “Luigi Freddara” Italian National Fellowship (2002-2007) for academic merits: I passed 51 exams with the full mark of 30/30 (twenty-five of which cum laude).
Selected publications:
Sub-Toxic Concentrations of Ionic Liquids Enhance Cell Migration by Reducing the Elasticity of the Cellular Lipid Membrane
P. Kumari, V. Pillai, B.J. Rodriguez, M. Prencipe, A. Benedetto, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 11, 7372, (2020)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
P. Kumari, V. Pillai, B.J. Rodriguez, M. Prencipe, A. Benedetto, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 11, 7372, (2020)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
A Quantitative Comparison of the Counting Significance of van Hove Integral Spectroscopy and Quasielastic Neutron Scattering
A. Benedetto and G.J. Kearley, Scientific Reports, 10, 6350, (2020)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
A. Benedetto and G.J. Kearley, Scientific Reports, 10, 6350, (2020)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
Dynamics from Elastic Neutron-Scattering via Direct Measurement of the Running Time-Integral of the van Hove Distribution Function
A. Benedetto and G.J. Kearley, Scientific Reports, 9, 11284, (2019)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
A. Benedetto and G.J. Kearley, Scientific Reports, 9, 11284, (2019)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids and Bio-Membranes: Setting the Stage for Applications in Pharmacology, Bio-Medicine and Bio-Nano-Technology
A Benedetto and P. Ballone, Langmuir, 34, 9579, (2018)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
A Benedetto and P. Ballone, Langmuir, 34, 9579, (2018)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
Low-Temperature Decoupling of Water and Protein Dynamics Measured by Neutron Scattering
A. Benedetto, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 8, 4883, (2017)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
A. Benedetto, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 8, 4883, (2017)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
Hydrogen-Bond Dynamics at the Bio-Water Interface in Hydrated Proteins: a Molecular Dynamics Study
P. Nandi, N. English, Z. Futera, and A. Benedetto, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19, 318, (2017)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
P. Nandi, N. English, Z. Futera, and A. Benedetto, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19, 318, (2017)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
Room Temperature Ionic Liquids Meet Bio-Molecules: a Microscopic View of Structure and Dynamics
A. Benedetto and P. Ballone, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 4, 392, (2016)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
A. Benedetto and P. Ballone, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 4, 392, (2016)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
Elastic Scattering Spectroscopy (ESS): An Instrument-Concept for Dynamics of Complex (Bio-) Systems from Elastic Scattering
A. Benedetto and G.J. Kearley, Scientific Reports, 6, 34266, (2016)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
A. Benedetto and G.J. Kearley, Scientific Reports, 6, 34266, (2016)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
Structure and Dynamics of POPC Bilayers in Water Solutions of Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids
A. Benedetto. R.J. Bingham, P. Ballone, Journal of Chemical Physics, 142, 124706, (2015)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
A. Benedetto. R.J. Bingham, P. Ballone, Journal of Chemical Physics, 142, 124706, (2015)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
Structure and Stability of Phospholipid Bilayers Hydrated by a Room-Temperature Ionic Liquid/Water Solution: A Neutron Reflectivity Study
A. Benedetto, F. Heinrich, M. Gonzalez, G. Fragneto, E. Watkins, P. Ballone, Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 118, 12192, (2014)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
A. Benedetto, F. Heinrich, M. Gonzalez, G. Fragneto, E. Watkins, P. Ballone, Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 118, 12192, (2014)
>>>> LINK TO THE PAPER <<<<
For the complete list of publicans, please, refer to Google Scholar:
>>>> LINK TO THE FULL PUBLICATION LIST <<<<
>>>> LINK TO THE FULL PUBLICATION LIST <<<<
Recent invited talks:
From Protein Dynamics to Amyloidogenesis in Ionic Liquids: The Role of Hydration Water
WaterX – Exotic Properties of Water Under Extreme Conditions, La Maddalena, Italy, postponed to June 2021
WaterX – Exotic Properties of Water Under Extreme Conditions, La Maddalena, Italy, postponed to June 2021
Neutron Scattering for Dynamics: "van Hove Integral" Spectroscopy vs Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering
QENS2020 - Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering Conference, San Sebastian, Spain, postponed to May 2021
QENS2020 - Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering Conference, San Sebastian, Spain, postponed to May 2021
Ionic Liquids in Bio-Systems: from Model Biomembranes to Living Cells
12th EBSA and 10th ICBP-IUPAP Biophysics Congress, Madrid, Spain, 20th - 24th July 2019
12th EBSA and 10th ICBP-IUPAP Biophysics Congress, Madrid, Spain, 20th - 24th July 2019
Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering - Is There Another Way?
European Conference on Neutron Scattering (ECNS), Saint Petersburg, Russia, 30th June - 5th July 2019
European Conference on Neutron Scattering (ECNS), Saint Petersburg, Russia, 30th June - 5th July 2019
Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids and Biomembranes: Setting the Stage for Applications in Pharmacology, Biomedicine, and Bionanotechnology
8th International Congress on Ionic Liquids (COIL-8), Beijing, China, 13th - 17th May 2019
8th International Congress on Ionic Liquids (COIL-8), Beijing, China, 13th - 17th May 2019
Ionic Liquids and Biomolecules: from Fundamental Research to Applications
ChemTrends 2018: International Conference on Organic & Hybrid Functional Materials and Additive Technologies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, 23rd - 28th September 2018
ChemTrends 2018: International Conference on Organic & Hybrid Functional Materials and Additive Technologies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, 23rd - 28th September 2018
Biomolecules, Water, and Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids: Challenges and Opportunities in Basic Science and Applications
2nd Gordon Research Conference on Neutron Scattering, Hong-Kong, China, 6th - 11th August 2017
2nd Gordon Research Conference on Neutron Scattering, Hong-Kong, China, 6th - 11th August 2017
Ionic Liquids Meet Biomolecules
19th International IUPAB and 11th EBSA Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, 16th - 20th July 2017
19th International IUPAB and 11th EBSA Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, 16th - 20th July 2017
Recent invited seminars:
An Approach to Measure Diffusive Dynamics via "Elastic Scattering" (normally accessed by Quasi-Elastic, QENS)
Italian Neutron Scattering Society (SINS) "Zoom" Seminar Series, 24th June 2020
Italian Neutron Scattering Society (SINS) "Zoom" Seminar Series, 24th June 2020
Ionic Liquids and Bio-Systems: from model biomolecules to living cells
Department of Chemistry, Florence University, Firenze, Italia, 18th February 2020
Department of Chemistry, Florence University, Firenze, Italia, 18th February 2020
Neutron Scattering Approaches in Biophysics
XXIV International School of Pure and Applied Biophysics: Applications of X-Ray and Neutron Scattering in Biology, Venezia, Italia, 27th January 2020
XXIV International School of Pure and Applied Biophysics: Applications of X-Ray and Neutron Scattering in Biology, Venezia, Italia, 27th January 2020
Do We Need to Measure Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering, or Is There a Better Way to Measure the Underlying Dynamics?
Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France, 4th September 2019
Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France, 4th September 2019
Which Instrument Can Measure Diffusive Dynamics Without Measuring Quasi-Elastic Scattering?
European Spallation Source, Lund, Sweden, 21st August 2019
European Spallation Source, Lund, Sweden, 21st August 2019
Ionic Liquids and Biomembranes: from Chemical-Physics of Model Systems to Bio-Nano-Technology of Living Cells
Institute for Physical Chemistry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany, 23rd May 2019
Institute for Physical Chemistry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany, 23rd May 2019
The Effect of Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids on (model) Bio-Membranes"
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, 23rd August 2017
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, 23rd August 2017
An Instrument-Concept for Dynamics of Complex (Bio-) Systems from Elastic Scattering"
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, 22nd August 2017
>>>> SKETCHNOTE BY ROB DIMEO <<<<
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, 22nd August 2017
>>>> SKETCHNOTE BY ROB DIMEO <<<<
The Effect of Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids on (model) Bio-Membranes
University of Notre-Dame, South Bend, Indiana, USA, 23rd August 2017
University of Notre-Dame, South Bend, Indiana, USA, 23rd August 2017
An Instrument-Concept for Dynamics from Elastic Scattering - Would it Work?
Spallation Neutron Source, Oak-Ridge National Laboratories, Tennessee, USA, 12th December 2015
Spallation Neutron Source, Oak-Ridge National Laboratories, Tennessee, USA, 12th December 2015