Ivano Bertini, University of Florence, Italy, passed away last week, after losing his battle with lung cancer.

Ivano Bertini was born on December 6, 1940, in Pisa, Italy. He gained his Ph.D. at the University of Florence, Italy, in 1964 and the Libera Docenza in 1969. He became Full Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry in 1975 at the University of Florence. In 1999 he founded the Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM) at the University of Florence, a major NMR infrastructure in the Life Sciences.

Bertini’s research focused on the structure-function relationship of metalloproteins, explored with biophysical methods. He is particularly known for using NMR spectroscopy and for pioneering the exploitation of genome data banks, most recently to identify pharmaceutical targets. He pursued advancements in technology for solution structure determination, particularly for paramagnetic metalloproteins, and developed specific software applications.

Bertini published over 650 research articles and has solved more than 150 protein structures. He was also on the editorial staff or advisory board of over 20 journals in chemistry, biochemistry, and inorganic chemistry, including ChemBioChem, ChemMedChem, and the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, where he will be sadly missed.

A ceremony will take place on Tuesday July 10 11:30 am in the Aula Magna of the University of Florence, Piazza San Marco, 4.

• Combination of DQ and ZQ Coherences for Sensitive Through-Bond NMR Correlation Experiments in Biosolids under Ultra-Fast MAS,
  Amy L. Webber, Andrew J. Pell, Emeline Barbet-Massin, Michael J. Knight, Ivano Bertini, Isabella C. Felli, Roberta Pierattelli, Lyndon Emsley, Anne Lesage, Guido Pintacuda,
  ChemPhysChem 2012, 13(9), 2405–2411.
  DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201200099
• Fast Resonance Assignment and Fold Determination of Human Superoxide Dismutase by High-Resolution Proton-Detected Solid-State MAS NMR Spectroscopy,
  Michael J. Knight, Amy L. Webber, Andrew J. Pell, Paul Guerry, Emeline Barbet-Massin, Ivano Bertini, Isabella C. Felli, Leonardo Gonnelli, Roberta Pierattelli, Lyndon Emsley, Anne Lesage, Torsten Herrmann, Guido Pintacuda,
  Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50(49), 11697–11701.
  DOI: 10.1002/anie.201106340
• ¹³C Direct-Detection Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy in Living Cells,
  Ivano Bertini, Isabella C. Felli, Leonardo Gonnelli, Vasantha Kumar M. V., Roberta Pierattelli,
  Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50(10), 2339–2341.
  DOI: 10.1002/anie.201006636
• 

  NMR of Biomolecules
  Towards Mechanistic Systems Biology
  1. Edition March 2012
  208 Fig. (110 Colored Fig.), 20 Tab.
  – Practical Approach Book –
  ISBN 978-3-527-32850-5 – Wiley-VCH, Weinheim

  Short description
  This practical approach title is the ultimate NMR guide for researchers in the biomedical community and gives not only background and practical tips but also a forward looking view on the future of NMR in systems biology.
  Website: www.wiley-vch.de/home/nmrbiomol