Francesca Marino-Merlo is Associate Professor of Microbiology at the Department of Chemical Biological Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, in 2022, after three years as fixed-time Senior Researcher (RTD-B) at the same Department. She obtained the Specialization Degree in Microbiology and Virology in 2008 and the PhD in Experimental Medicine in 2016, from the same University. From 2005 to 2012 she was assistant researcher at the Department of Life Sciences "M. Malpighi". From 2017 to 2019 she was postdoctoral research fellow at the IRCCS Neurolesi Center "Bonino Pulejo" of Messina by projects on Microbiology- Molecular Biology and Neuroimmunology. Her scientific activity focuses on molecular aspects related to viral infections, mechanisms of virus-host interaction with particular regard to the NF-kB cell transcription factor and regulated cell death (RCD), with a particular interest on human herpesviruses and retroviruses. She is also interested in innate immunity, antiviral therapy, development of new in vitro assays and use of new molecules with anti-cancer activity. Co-author of 41 scientific articles published in international peer-reviewed journals (tot IF 258,54 )and more than 70 abstracts (poster and oral communications) in proceeding of national and international congresses. Citation index: 705; h-index: 17 (source Scopus, March 2023). List of publications available by ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7898-583X