Associate professor of Cell Biology with a Ph.D in Environmental Medicine. Her research activity is focused on cytotoxic and genotoxic effects induced in human cells by ionizing (gamma/X rays, low energy protons) and non-ionizing radiation(laser light, UV light), chemicals (nanoparticles, cisplatin, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). She took part to projects funded by the Italian Space Agency to study the effects of ionizing radiation associated to modeled microgravity, focusing on DNA repair, in particular on that of double strand breaks (DSBs). She collaborated at european projects to study the cytotoxic effects and the mechanisms of action of different nanomaterials and to study the biological properties of nanosystems formuled to delivery drugs or other antineoplastic compounds, to improve selectivity and efficacy of antitumoural therapy. She collaborated with Istituto Oncologico Veneto (IOV) of Padova, the Department of Molecular Medicine and the laboratories INFN of Legnaro (PD) at the project:“Individual response to radiotherapy: looking at molecular biomarkers of radiosensitivity/radioresistance”. Since several years she studies the role of microRNA (miRNAs) as modulators of gene expression during the cell response to IR and their use as radiosensitizing agents for radioresistant human cancer cells. Her research activity is documented in international paper with referee. She participated to many international and national conferences. She has been responsible of financial grants of Padova University.

Curriculum in PDF: English CV

•Study of the DNA-Damage Response to ionizing radiation of different qualities (gamma/X rays, low energy protons)in human primary cells (lymphocytes, fibroblasts) and cancer cells (lymphoblastoid,cells derived from lung carcinoma, etc.) •Role of miRNAs in DNA-Damage Response to radiation. Analyses of miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in human cells irradiated in vitro with gamma rays. Over-expression of miRNAs targeting crucial genes of homologous and non-homologous recombination of DSB repair. •Identification of molecular biomarkers of individual radiosensitivity in oncological patients under radiotherapy. •Nanotoxicology. Analysis of in vitro toxicity of silica nanoparticles (Ormosil; Ludox), of liposomes and functionalized zinc nanostructures (ZnS).

1. "Role of microRNAs in the DNA-Damage Response (DDR) to ionizing radiation ". MiRNAs are small non coding RNAs acting as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression by binding to complementary 3’UTR of their target mRNA and causing mRNA translational repression or destabilization and decay; as a consequence miRNAs reduce the expression of target genes. DDR allows DNA damage detection, signal propagation and transduction to a multitude of effector proteins, which promote cell survival, activate cell cycle arrest to allow DNA repair, or apoptosis when cells are unable to properly repair DNA. DDR is regulated at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. More than half of DDR genes contain conserved miRNA target sites. 2. "Individual response to radiotherapy: identification of molecular biomarkers ".The study aims at defining a genetic signature of genes of the DNA Damage Response (DDR) pathway to define different degrees of patient radiosensitivity. Individual gene expression data from blood samples isolated from patients undergoing radiotherapy are integrated with clinical evaluation of tissue radio-sensitivity and with cytogenetic analyses in vitro. The research project is in collaboration with the Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV-IRCCS (UOC of Radiotherapy), and with colleagues of the Dept. of Biology and Molecular Medicine of Padova University.