Dr. Flavia Mazzarda wins the 4th Arthur Pilla Young Scientist Award

September 2021

Dr. Flavia Mazzarda won the Arthur Pilla Young Scientist Award during BioEM 2021, a joint meeting between the Bioelectromagnetics Society (BEMS) and the European Bioelectromagnetics Association (EBEA). The award is sponsored by the Arthur A. Pilla Research Foundation in memory of Prof. Pilla, a world-renowned bioelectrochemist, inventor and professor. The award is given every year to a young scientist in the field of bioelectromagnetics. Dr. Mazzarda, from the Frank Ready Research Center for Bioelectrics, was chosen as a winner for having the best presentation this year with her study entitled "Nanosecond pulsed electric fields activate the inflammasome in macrophages: the role of potassium in this complex scenario".

The Arthur Pilla Young Scientist award is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of Bioelectromagnetics and was already won by two other postdoctoral fellows from the Center for Bioelectrics, Dr. Esin Sozer (2016) and Dr. Maura Casciola (2019).

Flavia Mazzarda receiving the 4th Arthur Pilla Young Scientist Award

About Flavia

Flavia received her bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2012 and a master's degree in Nanotechnology Engineering in 2016. In 2020 she obtained her Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics, Nanoscience and Complex Systems from the University of Rome "Rome Tre". She joined the Center for Bioelectrics in 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow. Flavia's research focuses on understanding the effects of short nanosecond electric pulses on immune cells. Specifically, she studies how electric pulses alarm the immune system to attack tumors.

Working with Flavia

"We found Flavia through a very productive network that has grown up over the years, connecting researchers in Italy and the Center for Bioelectrics in Norfolk.

For a project funded by Pulse Biosciences with PIs Claudia Muratori and Tom Vernier, we needed an experienced fluorescence microscopist and cell biologist, and we were very fortunate to meet Flavia in an online community of researchers at La Sapienza University of Rome. Actually, it was then-Ph.D. student Federica Castellani who made the initial link.

Besides coming to the U.S. and doing the work we needed specifically for the funded effort, with the added challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began constraining our activities soon after her arrival, Flavia has in this short time become a valuable member and leader of our joint research team."

Claudia Muratori and P. Thomas Vernier

To know more visit https://www.bems.org/node/15749

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