ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2347-3495
Elisabetta Citterio is Associate Professor of Molecular Biology (SSD BIO11/BIOS-08A) at Link Campus University in Rome.
Her research activity over the last 20 years was especially focused on the study of DNA repair and genomic instability mechanisms relevant to tumorigenesis, haematopoietic stem cell maintenance and ageing processes. She attained a Degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Milan and a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, identifying the role of DNA repair enzymes in chromatin remodelling. After her postdoctoral period of research at the IFOM-IEO Institute in Milan, Italy, she continued her scientific career in 2006 as Associate Staff Scientist/Principal Investigator at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI-AvL) in Amsterdam, where she led an international team of researchers from 2008 to 2018.
Using in vivo and in vitro functional genetics, molecular biology, cell biology and proteomics methods, her studies have contributed to the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated signalling as a critical mechanism for maintaining genomic stability and of several enzymes, ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases, responsible for the ubiquitination of histones. Focusing on the role of deubiquitinases (DUBs), her group established a broad involvement of this enzyme class in the regulation of haematopoietic stem cells and highlighted its translational relevance in leukaemia, providing a resource to further understand the genetic determinants of normal and malignant haematopoiesis and identify therapeutic targets.
The results also revealed a functional relationship between deubiquitinases and proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases. In this context, since 2021, Prof. Citterio has been collaborating with Prof. Silvia Barabino at the University of Milano Bicocca to study the therapeutic potential of modulating the ubiquitin-deubiquitinase system in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Furthermore, she collaborates at the same University with Prof. Antonella Ronchi in the study of molecular mechanisms of gene regulation in models of erythropoiesis, both normal and pathological.
She has worked in and directed research projects at international research institutes in the Netherlands (Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam; Erasmus MC, Rotterdam) and Italy (IFOM-IEO and DIBIT San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan), with research experience in the USA (MGH-Boston), France (IGBMC, Strasbourg) and Japan (Osaka University). He has developed a strong network of national and international scientific collaborations and obtained competitive research funding, including the Vidi and ASPASIA award from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and project grants from the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF). She is an elected member of AcademiaNet since 2021. She authored 32 publications in reputable international peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Experimental Medicine, Cell Reports, Current Biology, EMBO J., Cell, PNAS. Since 2013, she contributes as an external reviewer for international journals and funding agencies in the field of Life Sciences.
Curriculum Vitae OFFICE HOURS
The professor is available to receive the students at the end of the lessons. However, the students may also request an appointment by email.