Rosa Alessandro

Biography

2015 National Scientific Qualification for Associate Professor (Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale, ASN, II Fascia). Academic Disciplines: Molecular Biology (05/E2); Cell Biology and Comparative Anatomy (05/B2); Applied Biology (05/F1). Jan. 2014-present: Member of the Adjunct Faculty. The Rockefeller University, New York, USA. Dec. 2011-present: Assistant professor. Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. Nov. 2010-Nov. 2011: Postdoctoral Fellow. Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. June 2009-Oct 2010: Director of the Rockefeller University Stem Cell Derivation Core. Center for the derivation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPS) lines with a normal as well as diseased genetic background. April 2008-Nov. 2011: Long term Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) fellowship. May 2007-Oct 2010: Postdoctoral Associate. Laboratory of Molecular Vertebrate Embryology (Brivanlou Lab). The Rockefeller University, New York, USA. Jan.-April 2007: Short term Institute Pasteur - Fondazione Cenci-Bolognetti fellowship. Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. Feb. 28, 2007: PhD Degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology with the thesis: “Rescue of dystrophin synthesis and body-wide muscle function in mdx dystrophic mice by antisense-snRNA mediated exon-skipping”. Nov. 2003-Feb. 2007: PhD Course in Genetics and Molecular Biology. Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. July 17, 2003 Graduated with honours (110/110 cum laude) in Biological Sciences with the Thesis “RNA interference in cellule di mammifero: costruzione di nuovi vettori per l'espressione stabile di siRNA” (“RNA interference in mammalian cells: construction of new vectors for the stable expression of siRNAs”). Nov. 1998-July 2003: Sciences Faculty, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. Course in Biological Sciences (Molecular Biology section).

Research Interest

His field of research concerns the characterization of molecular mechanisms that underlie cell function during differentiation and development, in order to understand how these mechanisms are altered in pathological conditions and how they can be used in therapy. In particular, my primary interest is the RNA molecule. For decades, RNA was only given passive roles as a messenger of genetic information, or structural, such as "scaffold" of the ribosome. In recent years, a growing number of small non-coding RNAs have been discovered, which are able to actively regulate gene expression and significantly affect important cellular processes.