Jean-François Desaphy obtained his PhD in cell electrophysiology and pharmacology in 1996 from the University of Poitiers (France), studying the role of ion channels in testosterone production by Leydig cells. He moved to University of Bari (Italy) for a 5-year post-doc period (Telethon-Italy fellowships) regarding the role and pharmacology of ion channels in skeletal muscle diseases. In 2001, Dr. Desaphy was appointed as Ricercatore in the Faculty of Pharmacy of University of Bari. In 2006, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Pharmacology at University of Bari and is currently a member of the Department of Pharmacy and Drug Sciences.
Prof. Desaphy was visiting scientist, in 1999 at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN) for the pharmacological characterization of ion channel mutants responsible for inherited muscle disorders, and in 2008 at the CNRS-Mediterranean University (Marseille, France) for the study of ion channel pharmacology in pain. He participated to the MDS mission promoted by the Italian Space Agency, with periods spent at the Kennedy Space Center of NASA (Cape Canaveral, Florida) in 2010 and Graduate School of Medicine of Osaka University (Japan) in 2011.
Prof. Desaphy is co-author of more than 50 peer-reviewed research papers, serves as reviewer for many journals in pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, and physiology, as well as for national and regional funding organisms.
In 2002, Prof. Desaphy was honoured by the National Prize for Preclinical Research from the Italian Society of Pharmacology and FarmIndustria.
Prof. Desaphy’s research interests include the biophysics of ion channels and their role in genetic and acquired diseases (ion channelopathies), with special attention to medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and pharmacogenetics concerning ion channels. An other field of interest regards the mechanisms underlying muscle atrophy and possible pharmacological interventions.
