GRANT and AWARDS SERIES (Stars@UniPd): Tatiana Varanita

Pubblicato il: 21.03.2020 15:16

A voltage-dependent potassium channel in myeloid cells and inflammation – vALID

Despite the importance of ion channels for critical signaling pathways, their in vivo function in the immune system still need to be defined. A potassium channel is expressed in hematopoietic cell, but whether it has a relevant role to the processes of the innate immunity is largely unknown. Given that potassium channels are druggable targets, the findings of this project could stimulate novel potential strategies for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases and sepsis.

PI's Biography

Tatiana Varanita has a degree in Biology and a PhD degree in Cell biology. During her PhD at the University of Padova she exploited in vivo a mitochondrial shaping protein to blunt tissue damage and to correct mitochondrial diseases. She then first worked as postdoctoral fellow in a very new field, thanks to which she acquired expertise in innate immunity and neuroinflammation. She currently studies the role of a mitochondrial potassium channel in tumorigenesis in vivo, but more recently her research focuses on the interplay between ion channels and immune system regulation.