Simone Furini

Simone Furini is a researcher at the Department of Medical Biotechnologies of the University of Siena. He received his PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Bologna in 2008 with a thesis entitled “Computational Analyses on the structure-function relation in ion channels”. His main area of expertise is the simulation of biological systems at the molecular level, more specifically, the algorithms that can be used to extend the time-scale of molecular simulations, thus bridging the gap between microscopic behaviours and experimental data. Dr. Furini has contributed to the current understanding of conduction and selectivity mechanisms in membrane proteins, and to the analysis of how DNA binding proteins searches for their binding sites along the DNA molecule. He is also exploring how deterministic and stochastic models can be used to predict the outcomes of gene networks. In this context, the long-term goal of his research activity is to identify strategies for the rational design of gene circuits in synthetic biology.