GIACOMO FRANGIPANE

08/2022 – present Research fellow (RTDA) at Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome

08/2020 – 07/2022 Postdoctoral fellow (contratto di ricerca) at Center of Life Nano Science, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome
Research topic: Optogenetics in E. coli, with applications on light controlled growth at single cell level.
06/2019 – 07/2020 Postdoctoral fellow (assegnista di ricerca) at Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome
PI: Prof. R. Di Leonardo
Research topic : “Study of the active mechanics of bacterial suspension with application to the controlled transport of passive bodies of arbitrary shape”
06/2018 - 05/2019 Postdoctoral fellow (assegnista di ricerca) at Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome
PI: Prof. R. Di Leonardo
Research topic : “Experimental study of bacterial motility in microenvironments with controlled structural disorder”
02/2018 - 04/2018 Research scholar (borsista) at Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome
Supervisor: Prof. R. Di Leonardo
Research topic: “Transport of photokinetic bacteria in light traveling waves”

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

The scientific and research activity of Giacomo Frangipane has been focused on the topic of active matter, with a special interest on E. coli as a model active colloid and as building block to construct genetic circuit. In this context he combined microscopy, image analysis, soft lithography and microfabrication, microfluidics, microbiology and molecular biology, and computational simulations to obtain innovative knowledge in the field as highlighted in the published papers. He designed and managed the synthetic biology lab in the Department of Physics Sapienza University of Rome.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE & SCIENTIFIC DISSEMINATION

2023-2025 Scientific programming course (Laboratorio di Calcolo), Bachelor Degree in Fisica (36 hours)
2024 Advisor of the Master thesis in Physics of Lorenzo Fabiano on “Optoswitch: Light-Induced Control of a Bistable
Genetic Circuit”
7-9/02/2024 Lecture (6 h course) on “How to build for light-driven bacteria” for Marie Skłodowska Curie International Training Network PHYMOT at the PHYMOT annual meeting in Rome
2022-2023 Physics course (Fisica), Bachelor Degree in Chimica e Tecnologia Farmaceutiche (39 hours)
2017-present Tutor of students for the Biophysics Laboratory course (each year)
2021 Co-Advisor of the Master thesis in Physics of Filippo Liguori on “Optorepressilator: long-term optical synchronization of a population of genetic oscillators”
2021 - present Judge in the International Genetically Engineering Machine (iGEM) competition, an annual world wide synthetic biology event that gives students the opportunity to push the boundaries of synthetic biology by tackling everyday issues facing the world.
2019 Lesson on bacterial motility for the course of Microbiology at Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome held by prof. ML Bernardini
2015 - 2019 Scientific communicator member of “The Science Zone – Associazione di Divulgazione Scientifica”.
Activities and events: “Boosting science education at school”, an Erasmus Plus 2-year Strategic partnership (October 2017-2019) aiming at bridging the gap between schools and science; Science Lab for kids for “MeravigliOrto” exhibit and “Hands-on Science” project (Rome); Guide to “La Scienza Illumina” exhibit at Sapienza University of Rome
2016 - 2017 Assistant for the course of scientific programming (laboratorio di calcolo) at Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome held by prof. R Faccini

FUNDING

2023 Progetto di Ricerca Piccolo 2023 – from Sapienza University of Rome
Project: “Phototaxis in light-driven E. coli, and interplay with photokinesis”

2018 Progetto per Avvio alla Ricerca 2018 – Tipo 2 – from Sapienza University of Rome
Project: “Invariance property of mean path length of bacterial trajectories in structured environments”

PUBLICATIONS

SCOPUS https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57194679025
h-index 9 , citations by 430 documents

GOOGLE SCHOLAR https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OQAUQCYAAAAJ&hl=it&oi=ao
h-index 9, citations by 611 documents

1. The 2025 Motile Active Matter Roadmap, G Gompper et al., 2025 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 37(14), 143501

2. Light-driven synchronization of optogenetic clocks, MC Cannarsa, F Liguori, N Pellicciotta, G Frangipane, R Di Leonardo, Elife 13 (2024): RP97754.

3. Multiple temperatures and melting of a colloidal active crystal, H Massana-Cid, C Maggi, N Gnan, G Frangipane, R Di Leonardo, Nat Commun 15, 6574 (2024). doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50937-2

4. Light-Driven Flagella Elucidate the Role of Hook and Cell Body Kinematics in Bundle Formation, S Bianchi, F Saglimbeni, G Frangipane, MC Cannarsa, R Di Leonardo. PRX Life 1.1 (2023): 013016.

5. Light controlled Biohybrid Microbots, N Pellicciotta, OS Bagal, VC Sosa, G Frangipane, G Vizsnyiczai, R Di Leonardo. Advanced Functional Materials (2023): 2214801

6. Colloidal transport by light induced gradients of active pressure, N Pellicciotta, N Paoluzzi, D Buonuomo, G Frangipane, L Angelani, R Di Leonardo. (2023) Nat. Comm. 14, 4191 doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39974-5 (2023)

7. Rectification and confinement of photokinetic bacteria in an optical feedback loop, H Massana-Cid, C Maggi, G Frangipane, R Di Leonardo. (2022) Nat. Comm. 14, 2740

8. Flagellar elasticity and the multiple swimming modes of interfacial bacteria, S Bianchi, F Saglimbeni, G Frangipane, R Di Leonardo (2022). Physical Review Research, 4(2), L022044.

9. A virtual reality interface for the immersive manipulation of live microscopic systems, S Ferretti, S Bianchi, G Frangipane, R Di Leonardo. Sci Rep 11, 7610 doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-87004-5 (2021).

10. A transition to stable one-dimensional swimming enhances E. coli motility through narrow channels, G. Vizsnyiczai*, G Frangipane*, S Bianchi, F Saglimbeni, D Dell’Arciprete, R Di Leonardo. Nat. Comm. 11, 2340 doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-15711-0 (2020).
*(co-first author)

11. Invariance properties of bacterial random walks in complex structures, G Frangipane, G Vizsnyiczai, C Maggi, R Savo, A Sciortino, S Gigan, R Di Leonardo. Nat. Comm. 10, 2422 doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10455-y (2019).
(Research Highlight: A. Klopper, Nature Physics 15,622(2019), Obstacle Course)

12. 3D dynamics of bacteria wall entrapment at a water-air interface, S Bianchi, F Saglimbeni, G Frangipane, D Dell’Arciprete, R Di Leonardo. Soft Matter, 2019

13. Dynamic density shaping of photokinetic E. coli, G Frangipane, D Dell’Arciprete, S Petracchini, C Maggi, F Saglimbeni, S Bianchi, G Vizsnyiczai, M Bernardini, R Di Leonardo. eLife 2018;7:e36608 doi: 10.7554/eLife.36608

14. Currents and flux-inversion in photokinetic active particles, C Maggi, L Angelani, G Frangipane, R Di Leonardo, Soft Matter, 2018, 14, 4958-4962

15. Light controlled 3D micromotors powered by bacteria, G Vizsnyiczai, G Frangipane, C Maggi, F Saglimbeni, S Bianchi, R Di Leonardo. Nat. Commun. 8, 15974 doi: 10.1038/ncomms15974 (2017).

16. PhD Thesis - Light controlled motility of E. coli (2018)
This thesis focus on possible applications of E. coli, motile bacterial cells, can be used as building blocks of a new form of material that can be controlled with light. We characterized wild type E. coli motility in response to light stimuli. Using gene editing technique we could implement specific functions (e.g. photokinesis – bacterial speeds tunable with light). A suspension of this engineered strain of bacteria represents a new form of living material that can be easily reconfigured in space and time by projecting spatially structured light on the sample. This bacterial suspension could be used for trasport of colloids/drugs, propelling units for microfabricated structures, or building blocks for fabrication of reconfigurable stuctures.

CONFERENCE AND SCHOOLS

28-29/10/2024 Conference: Collaboratorium Annual Symposium: Modelling Biology Across Scales, in Barcelona (Spain)
Poster presentation: Interplay between phototaxis and photokinesis in light-driven E. coli
03-07/06/2024 Junior organizer of the Conference - Annual meeting of the Physics of Living Systems (PoLS) Student Research Network, in Trieste (Italy)
Oral presentation: Photokinesis and phototaxis in light-driven E. coli
17-22/03/2024 Conference - DPG Spring meeting, in Berlin (Germany)
Oral presentation: Photokinesis and phototaxis in light-driven E. coli
17-21/04/2023 Conference - Interdisciplinary challenge from non-equilibrium physics to life sciences, in Rome
Invited Oral presentation: Photokinesis and phototaxis in light-driven E. coli
02-04/11/2022 Conference - Workshop “Physics of Microbial Motility”, in Paris (France)
Oral presentation: Interplay between phototaxis and photokinesis in light-driven E. coli
22-27/05/2022 Conference - Microscale Ocean Biophysics 6.0, in Mallorca (Spain)
Oral presentation: Flagellar motility controls the swimming mode of bacterial motility
06/10/2021 Invited speaker - Bioactive fluids ECR series
E. coli swimming in confinement
18-23/07/2021 Online Conference - Liquid Matter Conference
Oral presentation: Swimming bacteria in complex artificial microstructures
26-29/10/2020 Online Conference - Motile Active Matter
Poster presentation: A transition to stable one-dimensional swimming enhances E. coli motility through narrow channels, G. Vizsnyiczai, G. Frangipane, S. Bianchi, F. Saglimbeni, D. Dell’Arciprete, R. Di Leonardo
16-22/07/2019 School - 6 th International Synthetic and System Biology Summer School 2019, in Pisa (Italy)
Poster presentation: Dynamic density shaping of photokinetic E. coli, G. Frangipane, D. Dell’Arciprete, S. Petracchini, C. Maggi, F. Saglimbeni, S. Bianchi, G. Vizsnyiczai, M. Bernardini, R. Di Leonardo.
15-16/05/2019 Conference - Biophysics@Rome 2019, in Rome (Italy)
Oral presentation: Dynamic density shaping of photokinetic E. coli, G. Frangipane, D. Dell’Arciprete, S. Petracchini, C. Maggi, F. Saglimbeni, S. Bianchi, G. Vizsnyiczai, M. Bernardini, R. Di Leonardo.
28/08-06/09/2018 School - PALM Summer School Microbiophysics 2018, in Paris (France)
Oral presentation: Dynamic density shaping of photokinetic E. coli, G. Frangipane, D. Dell’Arciprete, S. Petracchini, C. Maggi, F. Saglimbeni, S. Bianchi, G. Vizsnyiczai, M. Bernardini, R. Di Leonardo.
Poster presentation: Light controlled 3D micromotors powered by bacteria, G. Vizsnyiczai, G. Frangipane, C. Maggi, F. Saglimbeni, S. Bianchi, R. Di Leonardo.
18-22/09/2017 School - Microswimmers – Summer School on Physics of Microswimmers, in Cargèse (France)
Poster presentation: Light controlled 3D micromotors powered by bacteria, G. Vizsnyiczai, G. Frangipane, C. Maggi, F. Saglimbeni, S. Bianchi, R. Di Leonardo.
04-07/10/2016 Conference - Microswimmers International Conference 2016, in Bonn (Germany)
Poster presentation: Light controlled motility in E. coli, G. Frangipane, G. Vizsnyiczai, F. Saglimbeni, C. Maggi, S. Bianchi, R. Di Leonardo.
04-09/09/2016 School - SCS-Scienza Comunicazione Società 2016, 04-09/09/2016 in La Morra (Italy)
12-23/07/2016 School - Active Complex Matter 2016 in Cargèse (France)
05-09/07/2015 School - Synthetic and System Biology 2015 in Taormina (Italy)
07/11/2014 School - Paris Biological Physics Community Day 2014, at Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, École Normale Supérieure – Paris (France)