Agata SCORDINO

Prof. Agata SCORDINO

Born: August 21, 1956, Catania, Italy

Nationality: Italian

Academic Qualification: 1980 – Degree, cum laude, in Physics at the University of Catania

Academic Positions:
- Senior Researcher at Institute of Physics, Catania University, since February 1985
- Physics Lecturer at Faculty of Engineering, Catania University, since November 1992
- Associate Professor of Experimental Physics at Department of Physics and Astronomy, Catania University, since November 2002
- Member of the Academic Board of the PhD course in Engineering Physics (200-2009), PhD course in Biotechnology (2010-2015) and PhD course in Complex Systems for Physical, Socio-economic and Life Sciences (since  2016) of the University of Catania

Affiliations:
• Department of Physics and Astronomy
• Sicilian Centre for Nuclear Physics and Condensed Matter (CSFNSM)
• National Consortium Interuniversity for Condensed Matter (CNISM)
• Southern National Laboratory of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (LNS-INFN)
• Italian Society for Pure an Applied Biophysics (SIBPA)
• European Society for Photobiology (ESP).
• Italian Society for Physics (SIF)

Scientific Interests have been based on the interaction of elecromagnetic waves, and expecially visible light, with matter. In particular:
• Optical properties of surfaces for thermal conversion of solar energy.
• Interaction of electromagnetic waves and rough metal surfaces.
• Diffraction gratings as generators of sub-millimeter waves.
• Spontaneous and photo-induced ultra-weak photon emission from living systems
• Non chemical intercellular communication
• Theoretical model of delayed luminescence
• Application of delayed luminescence in agriculture, ecology and medicine
• Development of innovative instrumentation for delayed luminescence measurements
• Delayed luminescence as a tool to investigate water structuring

The research work has been performed in cooperation with:
• Physics Institute – Pisa University – Pisa, Italy
• Institute of Electromagnetic Waves Research –National Research Council - Florence, Italy
• Institute of Vegetable Biology and Ecology – Catania University – Catania, Italy
• Institute of Physics - Pedagocical University – Kracow, Poland
• Department of Biophysics - Pedagocical University - Cracovia - Polonia
• Institute of Biology - Nicholas Copernicus University - Torun - Poland
• International Institute of Biophysics - Neuss - Germania
• Department of Biology - Open University - Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
• Department of Molecular Cell Biology - Utrecht University – Utrecht, The Netherlands
• Department of Physics - Modena University – Modena, Italy
• Department of Material Science – Milan University- Milan, Italy
• DI.VA.P.R.A. - Torino University – Torino, Italy
• Institute of Microbiology - Catania University – Catania, Italy.
• Institute of Horticolture and Floricolture - Catania University – Catania, Italy
• Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics, Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences – Kiev – Ukraine
• Institute of Cell Biophysics - Pushchino ( Mosca) – Russia
• Biophysics Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, Bucharest, Romania
• Department of Theoretical Physics and Mathematics, Physics Faculty, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
• BioFoton AG - Treyvaux – Switzerland
• Department of Obstetrics, Laboratory of Oxidative Stress and Ageing - University Hospital – Lausanne – Switzerland
• ST-Microelectronics – Catania, Italy
• Applied Physics and Photonics Department - Vrijre Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
• INAF Catania Astrophysical Observatory – Catania, Italy
• Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems - CNR – Catania
• Drugs Science Department – University of Catania, Catania, Italy
• Engineering Department– University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy

The research results gave rise to:
158 papers on international (peer reviewed) journals and scientific books,
169 communications to national and international scientific meetings

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-5012-1754

Current Research
Agata Scordino currently performs and coordinates researches on the low-level photo-induced Delayed Luminescence (DL) emitted from biological systems and on the development of novel instrumentation for detection of single photons in the optical range. The aim is to study the relationship between the optical signal and the functional state of the system itself, so also exploring the potential application of DL from biological systems as a non-invasive diagnostic tool.
Moreover a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of energy and information transfer in the biological systems could be achieved. As a matter of fact these research studies originated from the hypothesis, formulated few years ago by Herbert Frölich and other physicists, that electromagnetic fields could have a role as promoters and organizers of the features of entirety and coherence characterizing living systems.
The first experiments were performed on algae, seeds and fruit. The main results coming out from this, say phenomenological, phase showed the possibility to correlate DL features to the germination perfomance, fruit quality and water pollution. Then a theoretical model has been formulated which connected the photo-induced luminescence with the formation and subsequent dissociation of auto-localized electron states (solitons). Such states, as suggested by Davydov in the '70s, being characterized by extreme stability and high lifetime values, could take part in the processes of charge and energy transport along macroscopic distances during physiological processes. The proposed model succeeds to explain many aspects of the photo-induced luminescence, starting from the non-exponential behavior of the kinetics in a wide range of physiological conditions, showing a good agreement with experimental data. One of the published papers on this subject was selected for the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research (vol.5), that publishes the most relevant biophysics papers appearing in Literature, recommended by a selected group of experts.
Improvement in experimental equipment as well as mathematical analysis of data, allowed to use DL in the study of human cells and tissues, showing first of all the possibility to discriminate between normal and tumor conditions. Also in this aspect one of the published papers was selected for the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research (vol.9) and reviewed on Biophotonics International (vol.12). In order to gain new insights into the biochemical mechanisms responsible for DL of living cells, as well as to provide new data regarding the relation between DL and the cell status, the correlation between apoptosis, oxidative stress and DL in human leukemia Jurkat T-cells and in follicular and anaplastic human Thyroid cancer cells was investigated. The results showed that DL may not be cell-type specific and it could be able to reveal the activation of the apoptotic pathway. In particular the findings on the mitochondrial targeted effects of cell proliferation inhibitors raised the attractive possibility that DL spectroscopy could be used as a reliable, sensitive and robust technique to investigate mitochondrial dysfunctions in various diseases.
During the whole research, different experimental equipments, based on single photon detection chains, the more and more accurate and powerful, have been developed for time resolved measurement of the weak light signals emitted from the living systems samples. Indeed a research line for the development of innovative detection systems as SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode) and SIPM (Silicon Photomultiplier), able to provide time resolved images with single photon sensitivity, was started.
Due to the interdisciplinarity of the research, the results have been published on impacted journals spanning from Physics to Biomedocine, through Biophyisic and Biochemistry as well as Instrumentation.
The results were subject of invited talks at:
• Institute of Cell Biophysics, Pushchino Research Center (Pushchino, Russia, 2000);
• International Workshop on ENERGY AND INFORMATION TRANSFER IN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS: How Physics Could Enrich Biological Understanding (Acireale, Catania, Italy, 2002);
• NATO Advanced Research Workshop on “Molecular Self-Organization in Micro-, Nano,and Macro Dimensions: from Molecules to Water, to Nanoparticles, DNA and Proteins” (Kyiv, Ukraine, 2008);
• 6° Materials’ Day (Rostock, Germany, 2010);
• Conference on Ultra-weak Photon Emission From Living Systems – from mechanism to application (Olomouc, Czech Republic, 2013);
• International Institute of Life Energy summer school “The cycle of life” (Wietow, Germany, 2017)
• Meeting “Biofotoni ed energia per la vita” (Firenze, Italia, 2017)

In relation to Delayed Luminescence studies Agata Scordino has been:
• Principal investigator of some research projects on “Delayed Luminescence from biological systems”, funded by Italian Ministry of University and Research and University of Catania
• Tutor of a two-year research grant on “Modeling aspects and applications of ultra-weak photo-induced delayed luminescence emitted from biological systems”, funded by University of Catania
• Scientific vice-coordinator of the Research Unit on “Study by Delayed Luminescence of in vitro experimental model of thyroid tumour cells related to transferrin-1 receptor overexpression” as a part of Research Projects of National Interest (PRIN) No. 2008XAWB9H supported by Italian Ministry of University and Research
• Member of the research projects “DELOS - DElayed Luminescence for Optical Screening”, “SINPHOS - SINgle PHOton Spectrometer”, “TRIS – Time Resolved Imaging Sensors”, funded by the National Scientific Committee 5 (CSN5) “Technological and inter-disciplinary research” of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN)
• Principal investigator of the research project “Organization and coherent dynamics in liquid water”, funded by University of Catania as FIR 2014
• Local coordinator of the LNS-INFN research Unit of the national research project "ETHICS – Pre-clinical experimental and theoretical studies to improve treatment and protection by charged particles”, funded by the National Scientific Committee 5 (CSN5) “Technological and inter-disciplinary research” of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN)

SCIENTIFIC DISSEMINATION ACTIVITY

April 8 – 14, 2019:  XXVIII Week of Scientific and Technological Culture at LNS-INFN

September 28, 2018. European Researchers’’ Night, Progetto SHARPER - Sharing Researchers’ Passions for Evidences and Resilience –project, at LNS-INFN

April 5 – 11, 2018:  XXVII Week of Scientific and Technological Culture at LNS-INFN

REFEREE ACTIVITY FOR MANUSCRIPTS PUBLICATION ON JOURNALS

·         Biological Research 

·         Biomedical Optics Express  

·         Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

·         Journal of Biological Regulators & Homeostatic Agents

·         Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 

·         Luminescence

·         Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences 

·         PLOS ONE

·         Scientific Reports 

·         Trends in Analytical Chemistry

ORGANIZING ACTIVITY

September 11 – 15, 2017: Scientific Committee of LACE - Light on the Architecture of Life - Conference

September 11- 15, 2017: Organizing Committee of LACE - Light on the Architecture of Life - Conference

STUDYING SUPPORT ACTIVITY

A.Y. 2010/11: Orientation and Tutoring of the first year students of the Degree Courses with a programmed number at the Engineering Faculty

PROFESSIONAL REFRESHER ACTIVITIES

A.Y. 2018/19: Attendance to the training course for professors of the first-year courses - Qualification and professional updating project for the teaching staff of the University of Catania

A.Y. 2017/18: Attendance to the training course "First year courses: innovative teaching and learning process quality" of the University of Catania

October 2014: Attendance to the course "The general training of the worker", S-learnig platform AiFOS –Italian Trainer Association of Workers Safety

December 13-14, 2012: Attendance to the CEM training course "Evaluation of the risk of coherent optical radiation in the health and research field"

SOCIAL COMMITMENT ACTIVITY

Since 2006: Promotion of Peace and Respect for Human Rights Culture, through lectures to students from primary to high schools, as a volunteer of the EMERGENCY association (NGO, ONLUS)