I come from Sardinia, in Italy, where I received my degree in Chemistry from the University of Sassari in 2004. In 2005 I became a Ph.D. student in Rob Field’s group at the John Innes Centre research institute in Norwich. During my Ph.D. my research focused on the application of “click chemistry” to modify carbohydrates. My interest was mainly on the synthesis of reversible glycosidase inhibitors with particular interest on the glycosidases involved in starch metabolism in barley seeds. My research topic was not only covering the synthesis of glycosidases inhibitors, but also the assemble of pseudo-starch fragments with application of Cu(I)-catalyzed Huisgen’s 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (“click” chemistry) to be used as tools for a better insight into starch structure and how this polymer is metabolized and enzymatically degraded in nature. Immediately after my Ph.D., in March 2009, I moved to the laboratory of S.H. Nishimura, at the AIST institute of Sapporo, under the supervision of Dr. Hiroki Shimizu. Working with Dr. H. Shimizu my research was based on the application of microwave irradiation to improve the synthesis of Gold Colloidal NanoParticles (GCNPs). The main idea was the application of the GCNPs as solid support for solid phase carbohydrate synthesis. In 2010 I joined Prof. Kajihara’s group where I started working on the synthesis of glycoprotein. At the moment my research effort are concentrated on the synthesis of homogeneous glycoproteins to use as probe to understand the complex folding process of N-glycoprotein in the ER. Apart from science I have many other interests, but my two great passions are photography and especially sailing which I try to practice every time I go back to Sardinia together with my friends.

Publications

Nepogodiev, S.A., Dedola, S., Marmuse, L., de Oliveira, M.T., Field, R.A. “Synthesis of triazole-linked pseudo-starch fragments” Carbohydr Res. 342(3-4): 529-540 (2007). Dedola, S., Nepogodiev, S.A., Field, R.A. “Recent applications of the Cu-I-catalysed Huisgen azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction in carbohydrate chemistry” Org. & Biomol. Chem. 5(7): 1006-1017 (2007). Dedola, S., Nepogodiev, S.A., Hughes, D.L., Field, R.A. “2,3,4,6-Tetra-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl azide” Acta Crystallographica C 64 o445-6 (2008). Dedola, S., Hughes, D.L., Field, R.A. “Peracetylated a-D-glucopyranosyl fluoride and peracetylated a-maltosyl fluoride” Acta Crystallographica C 66 o124-o127 (2010). Carvalho I., Andrade P., Campo, V.L., Guedes, P.M.M., Sesti-Costa, R., Silva, J.S., Schenkman, S., Dedola, S., Hill, L., Rejzek, M., Nepogodiev, S.A., Field, R.A. “’Click chemistry’ synthesis of a library of 1,2,3-triazole-substituted galactose derivatives and their evaluation against Trypanosoma cruzi and its cell surface trans-sialidase” Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 18(7): 2412-2427, (2010). Dedola, S., Hughes, D.L., Nepogodiev, S.A., Rejzek, M., Field, R.A. “Synthesis of alpha- and beta-D-glucopyranosyl triazoles by CuAAC ‘click chemistry’: reactant tolerance, reaction rate, product structure and glucosidase inhibitory properties” Carbohydr. Res. 345: 1123-1134, (2010). Izumi, M., Makimura, Y., Dedola, S., Seko, A., Kanamori, A., Sakono, A., Ito, Y., Kajihara, Y. “Chemical Synthesis of Intentionally Misfolded Homogeneous Glycoprotein: A Unique Approach for the Study of Glycoprotein Quality Control” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134: 7238-7241, (2012). Makimura, Y., Kiuchi, T., Izumi, M., Simone, D., Ito, Y., Kajihara, Y. “Efficient synthesis of glycopeptide-a-thioesters with a high-mannose type oligosaccharide by means of tert-Boc-solid phase peptide synthesis” Carbohydr. Res. 364: 41-48, (2012). Izumi, M., Makimura, Y., Simone, D., Seko, A., Kanamori, A., Sakono, M., Ito, Y., Kajihara, Y. “Chemical Synthesis of intentionally misfolded homogeneous Glycoprotein: a unique approach for the study of glycoprotein quality control” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134: 7238–7241, (2012). Simone, D., Izumi, M., Makimura, Y., Seko, A., Kanamori, A., Sakono, M., Ito, Y., Kajihara, Y.“Folding of Synthetic Homogeneous Glycoproteins in the Presence of a Glycoprotein Folding Sensor Enzymel” Angewandte Chemie International Edition 53: 2883–2887, (2014).