Dr Pietro Sormanni
Royal Society University Research Fellow (Assistant Professor)
Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry
Biography
Pietro Sormanni is a Royal Society University Research Fellow leading a group that sits at the interface between computation and in vitro experiments. The group research is primarily focused on the development of innovative technologies for computational antibody design, aimed at transforming the ways antibodies are currently discovered and optimised. Through numerous collaborations and industrial partnerships, their work has demonstrated the potential for computational approaches to complement established procedures and streamline antibody development, offering novel, time- and cost-effective alternatives. Prior to his current position, Pietro was a Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and he holds a PhD in Chemistry and an MSc in Theoretical Physics.
Research
In my group we are fascinated by the key roles of antibodies in biomedical research, as well as in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases. By using a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses computational method development and in vitro experiments, we work to develop and establish novel technologies of antibody design at a computer. These advances are making it possible to complement well-established laboratory-based methods of antibody discovery and optimisation with fast computational approaches, and to offer time- and cost-effective novel alternatives.
