Dr. Francesco Cubadda is a research chemist at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), the Italian National Health Institute. Graduated cum laude in 1996, he had his post-degree training at ISS, entering the permanent staff in 2003. So far, his main scientific interests have included the study of element uptake/accumulation by living organisms with a view to assessing food-chain transfer and potential human intake, the development of analytical approaches to overcome spectral interferences in ICP-MS analysis of food matrixes (by use of elemental equations, alternative sample introduction systems, chemical resolution by collision/reaction gases), the use of multielement fingerprints for assessing food quality and safety. He played a critical role in the team that has recently achieved biogeochemical mapping of bioaccessible selenium in Italian agricultural soils.
	Current research activity focuses on the speciation and bioaccessibility of both essential and potentially toxic trace elements in food using hyphenated techniques with ICP-MS detection (e.g. HPLC-ICP-MS) in tandem with molecular mass spectrometry. Ongoing studies are primarily devoted to the speciation of arsenic, selenium, vanadium, and the characterization of metallothioneins. Main working areas also include identification and use of biomarkers in in vivo studies and application of isotopic techniques to research on food safety and nutrition.
	Lecturer of Food Chemistry at the University of Chieti (2002-2004) and Rome (2005-2008). He has been active as academic supervisor of graduands and doctorate students. He gives lectures in academic seminars and courses designed to address the needs of the National Health Service. Referee for the following peer-reviewed journals: Food Additives and Contaminants, Food Chemistry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Chemosphere, The Science of the Total Environment, Journal of AOAC International.
	Selected recent publications
	Aureli F., Ciardullo S., Pagano M., Raggi A., Cubadda F. 2008. Speciation of vanadium(IV) and (V) in mineral water by anion exchange liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after EDTA complexation. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 23(7), 1009-1016. Ciardullo S., Aureli F., Coni E., Guandalini E., Iosi F., Raggi A., Rufo G., Cubadda F. 2008. Bioaccumulation potential of dietary arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium in organs and tissues of rainbow trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) as a function of fish growth. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 56(7), 2442-2451. Elhamri H., Idrissi L., Coquery M., Azemard S., Elabidi A., Benlemlih M., Saghi M., Cubadda F. 2007. Hair mercury levels in relation to fish consumption in a community of the Moroccan Mediterranean coast. Food Additives and Contaminants 24(11), 1236-1246. Spadoni M., Voltaggio M., Carcea M., Coni E, Raggi A., Cubadda F. 2007. Bioavailable selenium in Italian agricultural soils: comparison of the geobotanical approach with a regression model based on geochemical and pedoclimatic variables. The Science of the Total Environment 376(1-3), 160-177. Cubadda F. 2007. Applications of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to trace element research and control. In: The Determination of Chemical Elements in Food ­ Applications for Atomic and Mass Spectrometry (ed. S. Caroli), Wiley, Hoboken (NJ), 225-295. Cubadda F. 2007. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In: Food Toxicant Analysis ­ Techniques, Strategies and Developments (ed. Y. Picò), Elsevier, Amsterdam, 697-751. Cubadda F., Raggi A., Coni E. 2006. Element fingerprinting of marine organisms by dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 384(4), 887-896. Cubadda F., Raggi A., Marconi E. 2005. Effects of processing on five selected metals in the durum wheat food chain. Microchemical Journal 79(1-2), 97-102. Cubadda F., Raggi A. 2005. Determination of cadmium, lead, iron, nickel and chromium in selected food matrixes by plasma spectrometric techniques. Microchemical Journal 79(1-2), 91-96. Cubadda F. 2004. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for the determination of elements and elemental species in food ­ A review. Journal of AOAC International 87(1), 173-204. Cubadda F., Raggi A., Zanasi F., Carcea M. 2003. From durum wheat to pasta: effect of technological processing on the levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel ­ a pilot study. Food Additives and Contaminants 20(4), 353-360. Cubadda F., Giovannangeli S., Iosi F., Raggi A., Stacchini P. 2003. Chromium determination in foods by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with ultrasonic nebulization. Food Chemistry 81(3), 463-468. Cubadda F., Raggi A., Testoni A., Zanasi F. 2002. Multielemental analysis of food and agricultural matrixes by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Journal of AOAC International 85(1), 113-121.