PhD supervisor: Prof. Remo Sanges, Computational Genomics Laboratory

Summary of career/studies:

I graduated at University of Trieste in Biological Science and Technology. During this period I worked in the laboratory of Comparative and applied Genomics at the Department of Life Sciences in Trieste. There I worked on the identification and characterisation of porin sequences produced by Cumia Reticulata. The focus of my work was purely bioinformatic, involving the screening of transcriptomic resources and the use of various bioinformatics tools to study the evolution and selective pressures associated with this gene family.

I got my master’s degree in Functional Genomics at University of Trieste and during this period I developed a strong fascination for the non-coding portion of the genome. For this reason during my Master's degree I worked at SISSA in the laboratory of Computational Genomics. In this experience I was able to deepen my knowledge of transposable elements, in particular LINE L1. The main aim of my master’s thesis project was to test whether the transcription of LINE L1 was increased in schizophrenia neurons with respect to controls.

I decided to join the Functional and Structural Genomics PhD program because it gives me the possibility to contribute to research in the non-coding portion of the genome, in particular in the field of LINE L1.