BIO
I received my PhD from the Open University in 2006, training in the Department of Immunology led by Prof. Alberto Mantovani, in Milan. I then moved for 2 years to the United States, to train as a post-doctoral fellow at the Mount Sinai Immunobiology Institute, New York (NY). Currently, I am Project Leader at Humanitas Clinical and Research Center-IRCCS and Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Milan. My long-standing interest in the field of tumor immunology is coupled to a strong tradition in linking immune cell infiltration within tumor tissues to clinical behaviors of cancer patients.
RESEARCH
My group at Humanitas is involved in a number of projects aimed at evaluating immune cells as prognostic and predictive markers in cancer patients, with pancreatic adenocarcinoma standing as one of our main focuses. Our strategy is to combine our proven experience in cancer research with the clinical expertise of the Pancreatic Surgery Unit led by Prof. Alessandro Zerbi, at Humanitas. We constantly and bidirectionally interact in order to integrate our different approaches to answer important clinical questions related to pancreatic disorders. One of our key questions is whether we can study and profile pancreatic cancer patients in a way that allows identification of subgroups with distinct clinical features. Such an approach would go in the direction of precision medicine, possibly allocating the best therapeutic option according to each patient profile.
HOBBIES / EXTRAS
I like to spend spare time with my family, particularly trekking in the mountains or in the countryside, playing sports and watching movies together.