Dr. Claudia Ghigna – “Post-transcriptional regulation of angiogenesis in development and cancer”
IGB Webinar 11 Luglio 2022
DOTT.SSA CLAUDIA GHIGNA
Istituto di Genetica Molecolare, CNR (IGM), Pavia
Istituto di Genetica Molecolare, CNR (IGM), Pavia
Personal statement/scientific interests
I have an extensive experience in the study of post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and how it impinges on key physiological and pathological conditions, including cancer. In this respect, I contributed seminal work on how changes in expression/activity of splicing factors influence the alternative splicing (AS) of cancer-associated genes and directly promote tumor progression. For the first time, I demonstrated a direct link between AS modulation and regulation of cell motility, a process with crucial implications in embryogenesis, tissue formation and tumor metastasis (Ref. 33). In addition, I provided fundamental knowledge concerning the AS control of epithelial–mesenchymal transition, which is crucial for the formation of metastases, and its integration with signaling pathways (28, 26). Importantly, I also used the knowledge gained through these studies to target cancer-specific AS variants as possible anti-cancer strategy (Ref. 29). More recently, I elucidated the molecular mechanisms through which AS plays a role in angiogenesis and in tumor vasculature (15, 12, 10, 2). Also, I am interested in the role of RNA binding proteins (RBPs) in neurodegenerative diseases (such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
I have has been Editor of a number of special journal issues and I have written several invited reviews or book chapters discussing the importance of AS in disease. These received many positive comments and have been cited as “excellent reviews” in several articles that dealt with related topics (for example in David CJ & Manley JL Genes Dev. 2010 24:2343-64 or in Mudge JM et al. Genome Res. 2013 23:1961-73).
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