Dr Danilo Faccenda is a Cell and Molecular Biologist with a research interest in mechanisms linking mitochondrial function to disease pathways.

Danilo earned his BSc in Cell and Molecular Biology and MSc in Molecular Biotechnology from the University of Bologna, Italy. He then moved to the UK to study for a PhD in Cell Biology at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, where he investigated mitochondrial anti-apoptotic pathways in cancer. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher for six years, specialising in the relationship between mitochondrial ultrastructure and function, mitochondrial homeostasis and signalling pathways, and mitochondrial contribution to the pathophysiology of age-related diseases. His research is currently focused on investigating novel retrograde signalling pathways between mitochondria and the nucleus in neuronal cells, linking cellular stress responses to changes in nuclear calcium homeostasis and gene expression.

Danilo joined the University of Hertfordshire in 2023, where he is a lecturer in Biochemistry in the Department of Clinical, Pharmacological and Biological Sciences.

His future research direction is the study of mitochondria-to-nucleus communication in chronic inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract.