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Barbara Vivani
Barbara Viviani

Barbara Vivani

Researcher

Barbara Viviani is doctor in Biological Sciences and Associate Professor of Pharmacology. As such she is tenure of courses in the field of Toxicology at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Milan. She has been Chair of the Bachelor in Chemical Safety and Toxicological Environmental Sciences, tenure at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Catholic University Our Lady of Good Counsel, Tirana, and board member of the PhD course in Environmental Sciences. Along with her academic activity, she has successfully supervised >50 undergraduated students and 3 PhD students to completion.

As member of the Section of Toxicology and Risk Assessment at DiSFeB, Barbara Viviani collaborates with the Center for the Evaluation of the Toxicological Risk (UMIL) and, in between 2014-2019, collaborated with the European Food Safety Authority as scientific expert. At EFSA she has been involved in the execution of a Scientific Opinions of the PPR and CONTAM Panels. In this context, to improve her understanding, uptake and use of the best risk assessment practices developed by EFSA, she attended at the EFSA Systematic review training (Sessions attended: Full process; protocol development; data extraction, heterogeneity, meta-analysis) and Adverse Outcome Pathway Course. The activity in the field of Toxicology leaded Barbara Viviani to became member of the Executive Committee of the Italian Society of Toxicology (SITOX) and serve on editorial board of toxicology journals.

Research activity. She obtained her Ph.D. in Experimental Medicine at the University of Milan in 1994 with a thesis on: ” Cytotoxicity of trisubstituted organotin compounds: molecular mechanisms”. Part of the PhD project (1992-1994) was developed at the Karolinska Institutet, Department of Toxicology in Stockholm supported by a fellowship from the European Science Foundation to evaluate the neurotoxicity of metals in vitro. Based on the results obtained, she was supported back at UMIL as partner in a project of the European Community for the “Development of new sensitive end-points to assess cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of environmental pollutants in the nervous system” (CEE Environment Programme). This scientific experience was the starting point of a longstanding research activity investigating (i) molecular mechanisms of environmental contaminants (among which Plant Protection Products), (ii) the role of sex hormones, steroids and their metabolites in the progression of neurological disorders, (iii) the development of in vitro models applied to the study of biological and chemical agents. This last topic leaded to collaborate with the Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine and the Flemish Institute for Technological Research to the EFSA tender OC/EFSA/PRAS/2015/07 “Literature review and appraisal on alternative neurotoxicity methods”, also applying EFSA Systematic Review guidelines.

Most recently, Barbara Viviani has been working with the AOP concept actively promoted by OECD and became a member of the OECD Advisory Group on Molecular Screening and Toxicogenomics (EAGMST, section: Handbook, Guidance and Gardening) with a role in AOP coaching. This activity started participating to the execution of a Scientific Opinion of the PPR Panel investigating experimental toxicology data of pesticides and their potential link to Parkinson’s disease and childhood leukaemia and leaded to the publication of two papers in peer-reviewed journals.

In general, the overall research has been developed in the framework of national and international projects and resulted in 80 scientific papers published in peer-review journals and several book chapters. H-index: 35 (see CV in annex; in bold most relevant publications to support the required professional capacity).