Associate Professor of Cell Biology with a PhD in Environmental Medicine. Her research activity has always focused on the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects induced in mammalian cells, both primary and tumor cells, mainly human, by physical agents (gamma rays, X-rays, protons, UVC rays, laser light) and chemical agents (various types of nanoparticles, cisplatin, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). She has collaborated on research projects funded by the Italian Space Agency to study the effects of simulated microgravity on the cellular response to DNA damage (DNA-Damage Response, DDR) induced by ionizing radiation in primary human lymphocytes, focusing the research on DNA repair, particularly that of double-strand breaks. She has collaborated with the Veneto Institute of Oncology in Padua on the search for individual molecular biomarkers of radiosensitivity/radioresistance towards radiotherapy and has gained experience on the role of microRNAs in the DDR pathway and their use as radiosensitizing agents for radioresistant human tumor cells. She has been the principal investigator of financial grants of Padova University: i) “Silica nanoparticles for the delivery of boron: a new approach for the improvement of the effectiveness and selectivity of the antitumoral boron neutron capture therapy” (2006-2009); ii)”MicroRNAs targeting genes of DNA repair to enhance the cytotoxicity of radio-resistant cancer cells” (2015-2018). She collaborated to projects funded by the European Union to study the cytotoxic effects of silica nanoparticles (Ecsin, 2008-2011) and the biological properties of nanosystems formuled to deliver drugs or other antineoplastic compounds (Nanophoto, 2009-2013). She has been co-PI in the project entitled:” Individual response to radiotherapy: identification of molecular biomarkers” funded by the IOV-IRCCS (UOC of Radiotherapy) of Padova Hospital (2015-2018). Recently, she has been the principal investigator of Unipd WP in the Horizon 2020 European project “Light4Lungs” (2019-2024) to study the biocompatibility of light-emitting nanoparticles to counteract drug-resistant bacterial lung infections. Her research activity is documented in international peer-reviewed articles and in two book chapters. She has participated in and given presentations at numerous international and national conferences. Since 2007, she has been teaching courses to students in the Molecular Biology degree program at the University of Padua.

Curriculum PDF File

•Study of the DNA-Damage Response to ionizing radiation of different qualities (gamma/X rays, low energy protons) in human primary cells and cancer cells. •Analysis of gene and miRNA expression profiles in human cells exposed to genotoxic agents. Functional analysis of miRNA-mRNA interaction of DSB DNA repair. •Identification of molecular biomarkers of individual radiosensitivity in oncological patients under radiotherapy. •Nanotoxicology. Analysis of in vitro toxicity of differnt types of nanoparticles.

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.

Last update: 10/07/2025