Meet our Bernalite Enrico Spoletti, who is originally from Bologna, Italy. Enrico is a PhD researcher in the field of Chemistry more specifically crystal engineering.
Enrico recently travelled to Italy and presented his work at the 鈥淚talian Crystallographic Association.鈥 This marked one of his initial experiences presenting at a conference in English and proved to be a gratifying and significant moment for him. When not working, he enjoys sport including outdoor running, but mainly cycling particularly exploring new places with it. When back working in the lab Enrico focuses on modifying the crystal structure of certain compounds to improve the physical chemical properties of the compound, therefor his area is in solid solutions. He takes two similar components with different properties and tries mixing to create a unique crystal structure. His current supervisor is Professor Matteo Lusi, who has been instrumental in supporting and guiding him, enabling him to explore his own ideas and further elevate the trajectory of his research project.
In 2020, Enrico completed his master's degree in organic chemistry at Bologna University. During his final-year project at the crystal engineering lab, he made a groundbreaking discovery that ignited his scientific curiosity. Upon meeting Matteo Lusi, his supervisor, Enrico decided to leave Italy to pursue his new research project at Bernal and UL, thanks to sponsorship from Boston Scientific.
When asked to describe his work to the general public he explains, 鈥淚f we speak about the drug, we try to modify the crystal structure of the drug, and improve the drugs properties. This modification of the property can allow the drug to function effectively in the body.鈥
And why is this important?
鈥淔or drugs, the goal was to improve the solubility and bioavailability of the compounds, and also reduce pill consumption if you can design the drug to cater to multiple health factors by combing two different drugs into the one compound.
However, If we speak about semiconductors and photoluminescent materials for example, a possible useful objective can be affordability. At present these are a very expensive and rare material. One plausible opportunity is to use a cheaper molecule but with good properties. For instance, instead of using metal use an organic compound that is cheaper and more within your means, but with comparable competent properties.鈥
Advice Enrico would be to any aspiring student wanting to come do a PhD is to 鈥渂e curious and try not focus on the end result. Focus on the process, at the beginning don鈥檛 focus on the publications and achieving awards but on gaining useful insights, techniques, and skills. Build a strong foundation first, collaborate and grow your network.鈥
If his life could be a theme song Enrico chose 鈥淲alk on the wild side, by Lou Reed.鈥 This has been added to the Spotify playlist already.
Best of luck in all your work, we are proud to call you a #Bernalite, from #BernalNeighbourhood.