Research topics

In the field of radiobiology, his research focuses on the study of the biological effects induced by ionizing radiation and different microgravity conditions, also in combination with radiosensitizing and radioprotective molecules, within the framework of personalized medicine. Within his multidisciplinary research group, he coordinates radiobiology activities using a proteogenomic approach to evaluate the response of tumor and healthy tissues through cellular and molecular biology methods, in both in vitro and in vivo models. 

CV

National Collaborations

Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti e del Farmaco-Università degli Studi di Parma 

Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)– Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS), Catania. 

CAPiR – Center for Advanced Preclinical in vivo Research, Università degli Studi di Catania. 

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF)–Università degli Studi di Palermo. 

Unità di Radioterapia Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori–Monza & Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca 

Dipartimento di Biologia Cellulare, Computazionale e Integrata (CIBio)– Università degli Studi di Trento. 

Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)– Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications – TIFPA. 

International Collaborations

Department for Microgravity and Translational Regenerative Medicine, Otto-von-Guericke-University (Magdeburg, Germany) 

ELI Beamlines– International Laser Research Centre, Praga (Czech Republic) 

Representative recent publications

• • Bravatà V., Calvaruso M., Pucci G., Carollo P.S., Lauciello N., Negri S., Guzzo F., Santoro V., Sarnari F., Bonanomi M., Russo G., Forte G.I., Minafra L. Cell and molecular effects induced by Cistus monspeliensis L. and Cistus laurifolius L. phytoextracts in X-ray-irradiated breast cancer cell lines. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences 2026 vol. 19 (1), 102267, ISSN: 1687-8507.
  • Calvaruso M, Panizza D, Colciago RR, Faccenda V, Pucci G, De Ponti E, Forte GI, Russo G, Minafra L, Arcangeli S. A Biological-Driven Approach to Explore Dose-Escalated Ultra-Hypofractionation in Breast Cancer Radiotherapy. BIOMEDICINES 2025, vol. 13, ISSN: 2227-9059. 
  • Pucci G, Minafra L, Bravatà V, Calvaruso M, Turturici G, Cammarata FP, Savoca G, Abbate B, Russo G, Cavalieri V, Forte GI. Glut-3 Gene Knockdown as a Potential Strategy to Overcome Glioblastoma Radioresistance. Int J Mol Sci 2024 Feb 8;25(4):2079.
  • Cammarata FP, Torrisi F, Vicario N, Bravatà V, Stefano A, Salvatorelli L, D’Aprile S, Giustetto P, Forte GI, Minafra L, Calvaruso M, Richiusa S, Cirrone GAP, Petringa G, Broggi G, Cosentino S, Scopelliti F, Magro G, Porro D, Libra M, Ippolito M, Russo G, Parenti R, Cuttone G. Proton boron capture therapy (PBCT) induces cell death and mitophagy in a heterotopic glioblastoma model. Commun Biol. 2023 Apr 8;6(1):388. 
  • Calvaruso M, Militello C, Minafra L, La Regina V, Torrisi F, Pucci G, Cammarata FP, Bravatà V, Forte GI, Russo G. Biological and Mechanical Characterization of the Random Positioning Machine (RPM) for Microgravity Simulations. Life (Basel). 2021 Nov 5;11(11):1190. 
  • Savoca G, Calvaruso M, Minafra L, Bravatà V, Cammarata FP, Iacoviello G, Abbate B, Evangelista G, Spada M, Forte GI, Russo G. Local Disease-Free Survival Rate (LSR) Application to Personalize Radiation Therapy Treatments in Breast Cancer Models. J Pers Med. 2020 Oct 17;10(4):177. 
  • Torrisi F, Minafra L, Cammarata FP, Savoca G, Calvaruso M, Vicario N, Maccari L, Pérès EA, Özçelik H, Bernaudin M, Botta L, Russo G, Parenti R, Valable S. SRC Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor and X-rays Combined Effect on Glioblastoma Cell Lines. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 May 30;21(11):3917. 
  • Minafra L, Porcino N, Bravatà V, Gaglio D, Bonanomi M, Amore E, Cammarata FP, Russo G, Militello C, Savoca G, Baglio M, Abbate B, Iacoviello G, Evangelista G, Gilardi MC, Bondì ML, Forte GI. Radiosensitizing effect of curcumin-loaded lipid nanoparticles in breast cancer cells. Sci Rep. 2019 Jul 31;9(1):11134. 
  • Bravatà V, Cammarata FP, Minafra L, Pisciotta P, Scazzone C, Manti L, Savoca G, Petringa G, Cirrone GAP, Cuttone G, Gilardi MC, Forte GI, Russo G. Proton-irradiated breast cells: molecular points of view. J Radiat Res. 2019 Jul 1;60(4):451-465. 
  • Minafra L, Bravatà V, Cammarata FP, Russo G, Gilardi MC, Forte GI. Radiation Gene-expression Signatures in Primary Breast Cancer Cells. Anticancer Res. 2018 May;38(5):2707-2715.