Phd in NETWORK ONCOLOGY AND PRECISION MEDICINE

Research: Generation and characterization of patient derived brain tumor 3D models

Position
PhD Candidate in Network Oncology and Precision Medicine (01/11/2023 - Ongoing). PNRR funded position.
 
Education and training
01/10/2021 – 19/10/2023: International Master's Degree in Neuroscience, Università di Trieste (Thesis Title: Human-derived IPSC cultures to model San Filippo syndrome. Final Grade: 109/110).
01/10/2022 – 30/06/2023: Master's internship at the Biomedicine department of the University of Barcelona financed by the 22-23 Erasmus Traineeship. Research focus: Development of neuronal cultures derived from human iPSCs, aimed at modeling the rare genetic disorder Sanfilippo Syndrome to explore functionality impairments.
01/10/2017 - 17/12/2020: Bachelor Degree in Biology, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" (Thesis Title: The role of Notch signalling pathway in the regulation of adult neural stem cells quiescence. Final Grade: 110/110L).
 
Skills
Primary cultures and in vitro maintenance of cell lines and 3D models.
Mouse models handling and manipulation.
Organotypic Cultures.
Cellular differentiation.
Transfection of cell lines.
Calcium Imaging of cell cultures.
Immunofluorescence and confocal imaging.
Immunohistochemistry.
Extraction of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) and proteins.
Real time qPCR.
Construction of sequencing libraries.
 
Research project
Development of adult and pediatric 3D patient-derived brain tumor models, aimed at molecularly characterizing tumor heterogeneity and exploring interactions within the tumor microenvironment.
 
 
Mobility
01/01/2026 - Ongoing: Visting PhD Candidate internship at the CNIO (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas, Madrid), Brain Metastasis Group. Position partially funded by Sapienza's mobility funds. Research Focus: Multimodal Investigation of cortical dysfunction in Brain Metastases mouse models.
 
Awards
"Best Poster Award Authors Under 35" called by the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research during the "36th International AICC (Associazione Italiana Colture Cellulari) meeting". Poster title: Circulating EV-MicroRNAs in Metastatic Melanoma as non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment response.
Winner of 2025 Sapienza "Avvio alla Ricerca" for PhD students. Project title: Assessing sex hormone impact on Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas using Patient-Derived Organoids.