G Di Leva

I started my research training as an undergraduate student in Italy at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in Dr. Bozzoni’s laboratory, where I worked on small nucleolar RNAs with a focus on the assembly of the small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins (snoRNPs) at early steps during transcription and control of snoRNA biogenesis. With the support of the Italia-USA Program Fellowship, I joined Dr. Croce’s laboratory where I completed my PhD, based both at University of Ferrara and Ohio State University. During this time, I acquired an interest in the role of small non-coding RNAs and their involvement in breast cancer by showing that miR-221-222 reprogramme gene expression to confer a proliferation advantage to breast cancer cells and induce resistance to therapeutic agents, such as tamoxifen and fulvestrant. To further dissect the role of these microRNAs in breast cancer, I decided to continue my training in Dr. Croce’s laboratory where I established the first miR-222/221 knockout mouse and demonstrated that lack of miR-222/221 delays the tumour progression and impairs the metastatic dissemination of breast cancer cells (manuscript in preparation). I also uncovered the first application for these microRNAs as biomarkers in a new targeted therapy for the cure of triple negative breast cancer by proposing the use of miR-222/221 in clinical setting (manuscript recently submitted). In 2014, to expand my expertise into drug discovery, I joined Dr. Richard Marais’ laboratory at CRUK-Manchester Institute where I have been involved in a new programme for the targeting of tumour initiating cells in melanoma and breast cancer. Recently, I have been appointed lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at University of Salford where I started my research group focusing on the understanding of the role of small non-coding RNAs biology and cancer.