Ingrid Cifola

I am a researcher with expertise in molecular biology, next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics analysis of -omics data. My research activity focuses on human cancer genomics for translational medicine applications. Taking advantage of NGS technologies, I aim to perform -omics analyses in order to improve the comprehension of molecular mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis and to identify novel candidate biomarkers of clinical interest for precision medicine applications. Working in close cooperation with hospital and university research groups, I perform structural genomics studies for genome plasticity analysis in cancer cells and detailed characterization of large and complex chromosomal rearrangements, such as dmin and hsr. I also study cancer transcriptomics, with both bulk and single-cell sequencing technologies, for expression profiling of genes and microRNAs and for characterization of particular transcripts, such as fusion transcripts and circular RNAs. I address a special interest to the study of tumor extracellular vesicles as mediators in intercellular communication and with tumor microenvironment, and as novel liquid biopsy biomarkers for non-invasive tumor diagnosis and nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery.