Maria Paola Costi completed her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and was a visiting scientist at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in 1991. She is a professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Department of Life Science, leading the drug discovery and biotechnology group. Her main field of research is the discovery and development of new drugs against the folate-dependent enzymes and, more recently, relevant targets of the Hippo pathway. She has published about 170 papers and book chapters in international journals, 18 patents, and is serving as an editorial board member of several international journals. She is a member of the MITO oncology group, translational science, and other networks and foundations (Paul Erlich Network, ESF). She is the coordinator of several collaborative European projects and programs (LIGHTS, NMTrypI, European Lead Factory QHL Programme Plan) and the scientific manager (Optobacteria, EUTransbio) or participant (MM4TB) and coordinator of different AIRC projects (Associazione Italiana per la ricerca sul cancro). She is a COST ACTIONS participant and vice-chair. She is a discoverer of new drug leads in the field of anti-Leishmania agents. She is a co-founder of two SMEs, TydockPharma srl and QuadrEL srl.
