Ferdinando Chiaradonna

Biography

Ferdinando Chiaradonna is Assistant Professor at the Biotechnology and Bioscience Dept, University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy). He graduated cum laude (1993) in Biological Sciences at the University of Naples (Italy), and earned a Ph.D. (2005) in Cell Biology at IEO (Milan, Italy) and at Open University, (London, UK). He worked on different topics, like the characterization of human urokinase post-traslational modifications and their role in enzyme function; characterization of human urokinase receptor ability to bind vitronectin in mammary carcinoma; the definition of the role of viral protein Nef in myelocytic chemotactic and adhesive properties; the identification of the molecular mechanisms involved in monocytic motility and adhesion; the analysis of the cytoskeletal rearrangement in myelocytic cell lines induced to differentiate by various agents (1993-1997); the identification of novel genes involved in Acute Promyelocitic Leukemia onset; (1997-2002). His current projects involved the study of signal transduction and molecular mechanisms of cell cycle control; the relationship between cellular transformation and the metabolic alterations characterizing cancer cells.

Research Interest

The characterization in different cancer cell lines, mainly carrying K-ras mutations, of cell death and survival mechanisms activated by glucose deprivation, Identification of the role of ER and mitochondria in the (de) regulation of cell death and survival mechanisms under nutrient stress, Identification of the role of the Hexosamine pathway in cancer cell death / survival, migration and metastasis.