Luca Tottone

After obtaining his Master Degree in Medical Biotechnology at Sapienza University, with a thesis centered on the oncogenic role of miR-223 in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL), Luca obtained a PhD in Molecular Medicine under the guidance of Prof. Isabella Screpanti in the Sapienza Molecular Pathology Lab. During his Doctorate, Luca first investigated different strategies aimed to inhibit Notch receptors in T-ALL and later uncovered the epigenetic mechanisms driving aberrant Notch3 expression in this malignancy. After graduating with honors in 2016, he joined the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) where he collaborated with the Sapienza Department of Chemistry and the Department of Molecular Medicine on the identification and patenting of a novel chalcone derivative showing Notch1 inhibiting activity and anti-leukemic potency. In March 2018, Luca joined the Herranz Lab at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) where he pursued his studies in cancer epigenetics by discovering PE, the first major long-distance tumor suppressor enhancer in T-ALL controlling PTEN expression during T-cell differentiation and transformation. Currently at CINJ, Luca is engaged in studying the metabolic and epigenetic mechanisms driving T-ALL resistance in cancer therapy.

“ISSNAF represents an exceptional opportunity to connect and share my experience with the Italian scientific community in the US. We are many, but spread apart in this big Country. In this view, being recognized by ISSNAF as a valuable young researcher represent not only an important achievement for my early scientific career, but also a unique resource of networking, mentoring and standing together.”