EXPLORA S.r.l. is a privately owned Italian company established in 2006 at the Technological Park “Tecnopolo Tiburtino” in Rome by a pool of young researchers and the support of a French seed capital organization INVENT SaS. EXPLORA is committed to the development of enabling technologies for biological engineering.
Vision
Biology is going through a radical paradigm shift over the last decade evolving from a qualitative/descriptive science to quantitative/engineering one. It’s now possible to “(a) design and construct new biological parts, devices and systems and (b) re-design existing, natural biological systems for useful purposes” in a rational and systematic way. This forward biological engineering approach may be applied at all levels of the hierarchy of biological structures: from individual molecules to whole cells, tissues, organisms and populations. This approach, also known as synthetic or constructive biology, has already revolutionized technology and production paradigms fostering the development of innovative medicines, redesign environmental friendly chemical processes and generate new sources of energy.
Mission
Our mission is to develop innovative enabling technologies to unlock the full potential of forward biological engineering. Our ultimate goal is to develop a comprehensive and coherent bio-engineering platform to allow scientist to pursue their ambitious goals.
Strategy
Our strategy is built around the following words: research-develop-deliver. Since inception we have been constantly investing in R&D to develop next generation technology through tailored partnerships. We are currently involved in several research projects and we constantly seek scientific partnerships to broaden and strengthen our expertise.
Davide is currently the CEO of Explora Biotech Srl and adjunct professor in Bionanomaterial at University Ca Foscari Venezia. Until 2011 he served as operative coordinator of the LivingTech Lab at the European Centre for Living Technology (Venice, Italy). He graduated in 2004 in Biology at the University of Rome “Roma Tre” and pursued a PhD degree in biochemistry in 2008. Prior to joining ECLT, he has been head of the pharmacokinetics and metabolomics unit at the Biotechnology Department at San Raffaele Hospital in Rome. In 2002-2004 he was staff scientist at Polyphor AG (Switzerland), visiting student at the University of Florence and research technician at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Zurich. His main research interests regard biological engineering of proteins as means to address both basic research questions and applied science challenges. Recent research projects lay in the field of protein engineering and design with a particular emphasis on surface and material biofunctionalization and development of novel functional scaffolds for synthetic biology. Davide also leverages his competences in IP strategic management for private investors and biotech companies at both national, European (EPO) and International (PCT).
Currently leading the Synthetic Biology Laboratory at Doulix, a business unit of Explora Biotech S. r. l., managing both scientific research and customers’ orders.
After graduating as a Master of Science in 2012 in Molecular and Industrial Biotechnologies at the University of Bologna under the supervision of Prof. A. Danielli, he obtained a PhD in Biomolecular Sciences in 2017 at the University of Trento under the supervision of Prof. S. Mansy. Dario has a strong background in molecular biology with a focus on DNA assembly techniques and a good knowledge in liposomes preparation, protein purification, small benchtop reactors and the preparation of E. coli’s extracts for in vitro gene expression. My scientific activity is driven by the engineering approach typical of synthetic biology.