Postdoctoral Fellow Francesca Brunelli on Track for an Academic Career

As a student in Novara in Italy’s Piedmont region, Francesca Brunelli was not sure what she wanted to do with her future until she took some medicinal chemistry classes as an undergraduate. It was after taking these courses that she was hooked and pursued her master’s and PhD in drug innovation at the Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale. 

“It was so amazing to be able to work in the field, developing new drugs and doing something that was both fun for me and useful for the community,” she recalls. She also discovered that she loves teaching medicinal chemistry. She realized she could develop the next generation of students and researchers while surrounding herself in the field that she loved. “I wanted to do that forever, so I am pursuing a career in academia.” 

The College of Pharmacy’s Postdoctoral Collegiate Fellows Program (PCFP) is helping her build and burnish the skills to make that dream come true. Ultimately, her goal is to “apply for a tenure-track faculty position and start my own lab with a research group and teach courses,” Brunelli says.

As she completed her PhD in December 2024, Brunelli looked for a postdoctoral opportunity and discovered PCFP. “I decided this fellowship would be great to allow me to do top-notch research and develop all the other professional skills I needed.” Her ambition and chemistry skills won her that fellowship, and in July, she joined Professor Emily Scott’s lab at the College of Pharmacy.

The program prepares future faculty for a career in pharmacy science, inviting PhD and PharmD graduates interested in academia to pursue independent research and participate in professional development activities.

The postdoc experience is proving to be a perfect blend of additional research training and professional development for Brunelli. “I knew how to do the chemistry, but I’m completely new to the biochemistry and structural biology part of the work, so I’m receiving training on this. It’s been great,” she says.

Brunelli is working to generate and test novel small molecules designed to inhibit specific isoforms of cytochrome P450s involved in cancer, diabetes and other diseases.

Learning the Soft Skills of Science

Brunelli notes that her fellowship experiences are bolstering her skills in teaching, grant writing, and supporting a graduate-level research group. Brunelli observed as Scott taught the Principles of Drug Action 1 (MedChem 500) course in the fall to get a first-hand sense of scientific instruction in a US research institution. Together, they reviewed techniques and course strengths and will discuss opportunities for improvement once teaching evaluations are available.

Brunelli has also participated in several workshops on teaching and lab management and applied to take a short postdoc course on teaching in STEM for the winter semester. 

“Dr. Scott is an excellent mentor, not only from a scientific point of view; she’s also providing a lot of career support. We have made an individualized professional development plan, and she is providing me with many resources I can use to build my future career.”

Benefits for Both

PCFP is benefiting Scott’s lab, as well. “Francesca is an exceedingly well-trained and productive chemist,” says Scott, the F.F. Blicke Collegiate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the College. “Her interest in treating P450-related diseases ranging from diabetes to breast cancer is an area where our scientific interests overlap, and her skills are perfectly complementary to my lab’s expertise in generating human cytochrome P450 enzymes and defining their structures and functions.”

“The Postdoctoral Collegiate Fellows Program is designed specifically to provide opportunities and pathways for scholars interested in a career in academia and to prepare faculty to succeed in STEM fields,” says Regina McClinton, Assistant Dean for Dedicated Programs and Assessments,  who oversees the program. “We seek out promising scholars with a wide array of experiences and perspectives in science and life to enrich our intellectual environment for all. We’re delighted to have Francesca here, contributing to and learning from our research community in so many ways.”

Brunelli is grateful for the postdoc opportunity. “I’m delighted to have received this fellowship and I’m having a really positive experience.”