October 2021, Virginia Beach, VA:

Congratulations to Dr. Flavia Mazzarda, a postdoctoral fellow at the Frank Ready Research Center for Bioelectrics, who won the 5th Annual Arthur Pilla Young Scientist Award during BioEM 2021. The award, given every year to a young scientist in the field of bioelectromagnetics, is sponsored by the Arthur A. Pilla Research Foundation in memory of Dr. Arthur A. Pilla, a world-renowned bioelectrochemist, inventor, and beloved professor.

Dr. Mazzarda was chosen for the award for delivering the best presentation of the year with her study titled “Nanosecond pulsed electric fields activate the inflammasome in macrophages: the role of potassium in this complex scenario”. The award is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the field of Bioelectromagnetics and is a yearly award given to a young PhD (less than 5 years post-doctoral).

Dr. Mazzarda received her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2012 and a master’s degree in Nanotechnology Engineering in 2016. In 2020, she obtained her Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics, Nanoscience, and Complex Systems from the University of Rome “Rome Tre”. Her research focuses on understanding the effects of short nanosecond electric pulses on immune cells and how electric pulses can stimulate the immune system to attack tumors.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Mazzarda after BioEM2021’s hybrid conference coming back after the pandemic. Dr. Mazzarda’s research closely follows Dr. Pilla’s research and expands upon it- studying what may happen to tumor growths if we modulate and control the signal by changing the length and amplitude.

Interview by Astrid Pilla, Founder of the Arthur Pilla Research Foundation, and creator of the Arthur Pilla Young Scientist Award. You can read about this yearly award here.