Epigenetic Mechanisms and Intratumour Functional Heterogeneity

A Lola and John Grace Distinguished Lecture in Cancer Research
This seminar will also be televised to CHUV Visioconférence 2 + Biopôle B301/CLE + Geneva University-CMU Auditorium Paul Boymond B02.226
 
Paola Scaffidi obtained her PhD from the Open University of London, working at San Raffaele Institute in Milan, Italy. Her PhD work in Marco Bianchi’s group led to the identification of the chromatin protein HMGB1 as a major danger signal released by damaged cells, which triggers inflammatory responses. She then moved to the US National Cancer Institute to work in Tom Misteli's laboratory. Her postdoctoral studies focused on the premature ageing disease Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome and aimed at elucidating how nuclear architecture affects genome function and how it contributes to the ageing process. As a staff scientist, she initiated a new area of investigation focused on understanding how cellular reprogramming affects the initiation and maintenance of solid tumours. In 2014, she established her own lab at the CRUK London Research Institute, which then became part of the Francis Crick Institute.  The Cancer Epigenetics lab investigates epigenetic mechanisms important for cancer development, with a particular focus on chromatin-based processes.

The common theme that links the various stages of my career is the study of how deregulation of gene expression leads to disease. I have obtained my PhD from the Open University of London, working at San Raffaele Institute in Milan, Italy. My PhD work led to the identification of the chromatin protein HMGB1 as a major danger signal released by damaged cells that alerts the immune system and triggers sterile inflammation. I then moved to the US National Cancer Institute to work in Tom Misteli's laboratory. My postdoctoral studies focused on the premature ageing disease Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome and investigated how nuclear architecture affects genome function and how it contributes to the ageing process. As a staff scientist, I initiated a new area of investigation focused on understanding how cellular reprogramming affects the initiation and maintenance of solid tumors. In 2014, I established the Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory at the CRUK London Research Institute, which then became part of the Francis Crick Institute. A major goal of the laboratory is to uncover the functional impact of epigenetic and transcriptional deregulation in cancer. To do so, we study how chromatin-based mechanisms cooperate with genetics and cell-to-cell signaling in defining cancer cell behavior at various stages of the disease.