Cristina Balagna is an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Technology at Politecnico di Torino, Italy. She earned her PhD in Materials Science and Technology in 2011 and her Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2007, both from Politecnico di Torino. Her research focuses on developing antimicrobial and virucidal composite coatings for applications in filtration, high-traffic surfaces, and biomedical devices. Prof. Balagna specializes in the characterization and testing of various materials, including metallic, glass, and ceramic, in the form of films, coatings, and bulk structures.
She has been involved in numerous national and European research projects, collaborating with top international universities, research centres, and companies. Notably, she served as Principal Investigator for a European Transnational Manunet project. Currently, she is part of the coordination and Work Package Leader for the EU-funded project NANOBLOC (January 2023 - December 2025), which focuses on developing antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal nanocoatings.
Prof. Balagna has co-authored 33 peer-reviewed papers and holds an international patent on antiviral composite coatings, with royalties licensed to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).