Alice Giustacchini

Alice Giustacchini is a Research Fellow and Group Leader at Human Technopole and previously led a research group at University College London (UCL) Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. She holds a PhD from Università San Raffaele (supervised by Prof. Luigi Naldini) and completed a Postdoc at the University of Oxford under Professors Sten Eirik Jacobsen and Adam Mead. Her research focuses on understanding mechanisms of therapy resistance in leukemia, particularly targeting leukemic stem cells (LSCs) and their interactions with the immune microenvironment. She combines single-cell genomics, proteomics, and functional stem cell assays to develop novel therapeutic strategies.

Education:

• PhD in Hematology, Università San Raffaele
• Postdoc, University of Oxford

Research Interests: Alice’s work explores the biological mechanisms underlying leukemia therapy resistance, with a focus on LSCs and their niche environments. Her group investigates immune cell interactions in the bone marrow, aiming to identify therapeutic targets to eradicate malignant clones. She also develops cutting-edge methodologies like single-cell mutational analysis and CAR T-cell functional profiling.

Grants:

• AIRC Start-Up Grant (2024)
• Telethon–Cariplo Grant (2023)

Team: Includes PhD student Filippo Martignano, Postdoc Clara Pessia, and Undergraduate Intern Cecilia Reyneri. The group aims to integrate genomic, proteomic, and immunological data to refine risk stratification and therapeutic approaches in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).