2007-2010 PhD Nanoscience, University of Salento, Italy 2004-2006 MSc Materials Physics, University of Salento, Italy 2001-2004 BSc Physics, University of Salento, Italy Career

2014-present Lecturer in Biosciences, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter 2013-2014 Early career Leverhulme fellow, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge 2010-2013 Postdoctoral research associate, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge

I am currently developing novel opto-fluidic assays for high throughput phenotyping of constrained live biological cells. This enables independent stress (physical cues and/or chemical stimuli) and measurement with single-cell resolution and can be used in the study of pharmacodynamics of antimicrobial drugs, activation of immune system cells, differentiation kinetics of stem cells and cancer invasion.

One of my research focuses is on the correlation between external stresses (exposure to antimicrobial drugs) and cellular responses at the single-cell level. Indeed, populations of genetically identical cells are not homogeneous, but contain subpopulations with phenotypic heterogeneity in their response to external stimuli. This has severely constrained our scientific understanding of key problems such as the emergence of drug resistance, where antimicrobial screening at the population level often leads to ambiguous findings, for instance due to the presence of drug-tolerant persister cells. Consequently, several key issues are not understood including drug uptake at the single-cell level, the effect of the drug on the single cell and the cell response, and phenotypic/genotypic differences among sub-populations of cells responding to stress in different ways. Addressing these issues using cutting-edge single-cell techniques is critical for an understanding of the dynamics of the response to drugs in heterogeneous populations and will allow both the more effective use of existing drugs and better ways of screening novel drugs.

Dettmer SL, Pagliara S, Misiunas K, Keyser UF (In Press). Anisotropic diffusion of spherical particles in closely confining. microchannels. Physical Review E, 98 Abstract. Author URL. Misiunas K, Pagliara S, Lauga E, Lister JR, Keyser UF (In Press). Non-decaying hydrodynamic interactions along narrow channels. Phys. Rev. Lett., 115 Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 2 Cama J, Bajaj H, Pagliara S, Maier T, Braun Y, Winterhalter M, Keyser UF (2015). Quantification of Fluoroquinolone Uptake through the Outer Membrane Channel OmpF of Escherichia coli. J Am Chem Soc, 137(43), 13836-13843. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 3 Otto O, Rosendahl P, Mietke A, Golfier S, Herold C, Klaue D, Girardo S, Pagliara S, Ekpenyong A, Jacobi A, et al (2015). Real-time deformability cytometry: On-the-fly cell mechanical phenotyping. Nature Methods, 12(3), 199-202. Abstract. Article has an altmetric score of 79 Cama J, Chimerel C, Pagliara S, Javer A, Keyser UF (2014). A label-free microfluidic assay to quantitatively study antibiotic diffusion through lipid membranes. Lab Chip, 14(13), 2303-2308. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 1 Pagliara S, Franze K, McClain CR, Wylde GW, Fisher CL, Franklin RJM, Kabla AJ, Keyser UF, Chalut KJ (2014). Auxetic nuclei in embryonic stem cells exiting pluripotency. Nature Materials, 13(6), 638-644. Abstract. Article has an altmetric score of 55 Pagliara S, Dettmer SL, Keyser UF (2014). Channel-facilitated diffusion boosted by particle binding at the channel entrance. Physical Review Letters, 113(4). Abstract. Article has an altmetric score of 1 Pagliara S, Dettmer SL, Misiunas K, Lea L, Tan Y, Keyser UF (2014). Diffusion coefficients and particle transport in synthetic membrane channels. European Physical Journal: Special Topics, 223(14), 3145-3163. Abstract. Dettmer SL, Keyser UF, Pagliara S (2014). Local characterization of hindered Brownian motion by using digital video microscopy and 3D particle tracking. Rev Sci Instrum, 85(2). Abstract. Author URL. Schleicher KD, Dettmer SL, Kapinos LE, Pagliara S, Keyser UF, Jeney S, Lim RYH (2014). Selective transport control on molecular velcro made from intrinsically disordered proteins. Nature Nanotechnology, 9(7), 525-530. Abstract. Article has an altmetric score of 65 Camposeo A, Greenfeld I, Tantussi F, Pagliara S, Moffa M, Fuso F, Allegrini M, Zussman E, Pisignano D (2013). Local mechanical properties of electrospun fibers correlate to their internal nanostructure. Nano Lett, 13(11), 5056-5062. Abstract. Author URL. Pagliara S, Schwall C, Keyser UF (2013). Optimizing diffusive transport through a synthetic membrane channel. Adv Mater, 25(6), 844-849. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 1 Pagliara S, Polini A, Camposeo A, Schröder HC, Müller WEG, Pisignano D (2012). Electrical properties of in vitro biomineralized recombinant silicatein deposited by microfluidics. Applied Physics Letters, 101(19). Abstract. Foderá V, Pagliara S, Otto O, Keyser UF, Donald AM (2012). Microfluidics reveals a flow-induced large-scale polymorphism of protein aggregates. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 3(19), 2803-2807. Abstract. Polini A, Pagliara S, Camposeo A, Cingolani R, Wang X, Schröder HC, Müller WE, Pisignano D (2012). Optical properties of in-vitro biomineralised silica. Sci Rep, 2 Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 13 Lee CW, Pagliara S, Keyser U, Baumberg JJ (2012). Perpendicular coupling to in-plane photonics using arc waveguides fabricated via two-photon polymerization. Applied Physics Letters, 100(17). Abstract. Ekpenyong AE, Whyte G, Chalut K, Pagliara S, Lautenschläger F, Fiddler C, Paschke S, Keyser UF, Chilvers ER, Guck J, et al (2012). Viscoelastic properties of differentiating blood cells are fate- and function-dependent. PLoS One, 7(9). Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 3 Tu D, Pagliara S, Cingolani R, Pisignano D (2011). An electrospun fiber phototransistor by the conjugated polymer poly[2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene-vinylene]. Applied Physics Letters, 98(2). Abstract. Article has an altmetric score of 7 Polini A, Pagliara S, Camposeo A, Biasco A, Schröder HC, Müller WE, Pisignano D (2011). Biosilica electrically-insulating layers by soft lithography-assisted biomineralisation with recombinant silicatein. Adv Mater, 23(40), 4674-4678. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 1 Pagliara S, Chimerel C, Aarts DGAL, Langford R, Keyser UF (2011). Colloid flow control in microchannels and detection by laser scattering. Progress in Colloid and Polymer Science, 139, 45-49. Abstract.