The Molecular Medicine Research Unit investigates molecular mechanisms underlying human disease and explores their potential for innovative pharmacological intervention. Our research integrates molecular and cellular biology with pharmacology and drug discovery, combining mechanistic and target-validation studies with approaches including small-molecule discovery and in vivo validation. Research programs address diverse disease-relevant biological processes and have generated expertise in areas including circadian biology, autophagy, cellular metabolism and non-coding RNA biology. The Unit combines complementary experimental approaches through multidisciplinary collaborations within IIT and with academic and industrial partners to identify and validate novel therapeutic concepts.
We have discovered a previously unrecognized MYC-independent role of MAX in the molecular clock; established autophagy as a regulator of human hair-follicle biology, translating this discovery into industry-funded research; developed a patented small-molecule program from pharmacological discovery and medicinal chemistry to industrial partnership and in vivo proof of concept; and established an RNA-targeting drug-discovery program integrating non-coding RNA biology, small-molecule discovery and pharmacological validation.

The Molecular Medicine Research Unit combines molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry and pharmacology approaches to investigate disease mechanisms and validate novel therapeutic concepts. Our laboratories support a broad range of experimental activities, including genetic and pharmacological perturbation, molecular and cellular phenotyping, gene-expression, genomic and transcriptomic approaches, and the development of engineered cellular and reporter systems for functional studies.
Cellular processes are investigated using complementary imaging approaches, ranging from conventional and live-cell fluorescence microscopy to advanced optical and electron microscopy, in close interaction with IIT imaging facilities. These capabilities are integrated with biochemical and molecular analyses and complemented by access to IIT's shared technological platforms and facilities, enabling multidisciplinary studies and the incorporation of specialized approaches according to the needs of individual research programs.

The Molecular Medicine Research Unit has established a broad network of multidisciplinary collaborations within IIT and with national and international academic, clinical and industrial partners. These collaborations provide complementary expertise across molecular and RNA biology, medicinal chemistry, computational approaches, advanced disease models and pharmacological validation, supporting research programs from mechanistic discovery and target validation to therapeutic development.
The Unit also interacts with technology-transfer and industrial partners to facilitate the validation, development and potential translation of emerging therapeutic concepts.