After conducting their experimental work at Biogem's laboratories, three young researchers brilliantly defended their dissertations and completed their doctoral studies on Tuesday, January 20th.
Dr. Federica De Vita, Dr. Lucia Pasquale and Dr. Daniele Bravoco completed their PhD in Translational Medicine from the University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, in Biochemical and Biotechnological Sciences from the University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, and in Public Health and Preventive Medicine from the University of Naples Federico II, respectively.
Dr. De Vita, who in addition to the Italian PhD obtained also the degree of Doctor Europeus, after a six months research period at the Institut de la Vision in Paris, defended a thesis entitled "Genetic editing of the zebrafish clock gene reveals previously unexpected molecular and phenotypic effects." The work, supervised by Professor Vincenzo Carafa, co-head of Biogem's Epigenetics Laboratory together with Professor Lucia Altucci, and co-supervised by Professor Concetta Ambrosino, head of Biogem's Genetically Modified Animal and Cellular Models Laboratory, and developed under the supervision of Professor Lucia Altucci and Dr. Filippo del Bene, explores the developmental contribution of a specific gene in three zebrafish models. In particular, Dr. De Vita's studies highlighted a key contribution of the CLOCKB gene to thyroid and eye development. These results are very promising from a translational perspective, as they open up new perspectives for targeted therapeutic strategies, especially against tumor diseases, such as glioblastoma.
Dr. Pasquale defended a thesis entitled ‘Identification of potential prognostic and predictive biomarkers in head and neck cancer.’ The work, developed under the supervision of Prof. Michele Caraglia, head of Biogem's Molecular Oncology and Precision Medicine laboratory, where Dr. Pasquale conducted her experiments, delves into what is the seventh most common cancer globally. Specifically, using highly advanced techniques, including cell modeling, her research has identified markers associated with tumor progression and disease aggressiveness, including a specific potential biomarker (Relaxin Family Peptide Receptor 1, RXFP1). Based on these very promising results, Dr. Pasquale is now ready to continue her studies, particularly by validating in animal models the results obtained in cell models. This step, along with further characterization of the identified progression mechanisms, is essential for the clinical translation of the research, particularly for the development of therapeutic strategies targeting the RXFP1 receptor.
Dr. Bravoco defended a thesis entitled ‘Organoids as preclinical models for inflammatory bowel disease treatment.’ The work, developed under the supervision of Professor Franca di Meglio and Professor Geppino Falco, head of the Cellular Biology and Preclinical Oncology Laboratory at Biogem, where Dr. Bravoco conducted his experiments, focuses on chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, which are a significant clinical challenge due to their chronic nature and limited therapeutic options. Dr. Bravoco used a highly advanced and innovative technique, namely the generation of organoids, defined as miniature three-dimensional ‘replicas’ of human organs, developed in the laboratory from stem cells, which mimic the structure and function of the organs of interest. Dr. Bravoco specifically used intestinal organoids obtained from both healthy subjects and patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease. These organoids realistically reproduced specific markers and inflammatory profiles. The results validate organoids as reliable platforms for studying chronic inflammatory disease and identify an olive oil-derived compound as a promising anti-inflammatory therapeutic candidate. Dr. Bravoco's research opens up several clinical avenues, including the possibility of using patient-derived organoids to provide personalized treatment recommendations.
These outstanding research projects confirm the value of Biogem's commitment to training young talents. In Biogem are currently active PhD programs promoted by the University of Campania L. Vanvitelli and the University of Naples Federico II.
