Wednesday 16 September 2026 12:00pm to 1:00pm
JCBC Lecture Theatre
We are pleased to welcome Dr Raffaella Di Micco from the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-TIGET), Milan, for a Visitor Seminar hosted by Prof Elisa Laurenti.
Title: Cellular responses to DNA damage: from senescence to immunity
About
Dr Di Micco's research focuses on how cellular stress responses, including DNA damage, inflammation and proliferative stress, influence stem cell fate, tissue homeostasis, aging and cancer.
Her laboratory combines genome engineering, single-cell multi-omics and translational stem cell biology to investigate stress and senescence programmes in human hematopoietic stem cells, with the aim of developing safer and more effective therapies for hematopoietic diseases.
Abstract
My research focuses on how stress responses, such as DNA damage, inflammation, and proliferative stress, shape stem cell fate and tissue homeostasis. Over the past years, I have studied how DNA damage responses, chromatin regulation, and cellular senescence interact to control stem cell function, aging, and cancer suppression.
In my laboratory, we investigate human hematopoietic stem cells using genome engineering, single-cell multi-omics, and clinically relevant models. We aim to understand how stress and senescence programs are activated during aging, disease, and ex vivo gene editing, and how they impact stem cell fitness. A key focus is improving the safety and efficacy of gene therapy by identifying and mitigating stress responses induced during stem cell manipulation. We also study how senescence contributes to leukemia and therapeutic resistance, with the goal of identifying new vulnerabilities for treatment. Overall, our work connects fundamental mechanisms of genome stability and epigenetics with translational strategies in regenerative medicine and cancer therapy.
About the Speaker
Raffaella Di Micco is Group Leader at SR-TIGET, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, and Associate Professor of Pathology at the School for Advanced Studies (IUSS), Pavia. Following pioneering work on oncogene-induced senescence during her PhD and postdoctoral research at IFOM and New York University, she established her laboratory in 2016 to investigate stress responses in human hematopoietic stem cells. She is the recipient of several international awards, including an ERC Consolidator Grant and the New York Stem Cell Foundation Robertson Award.