Antonio Scialdone

Dr. Antonio Scialdone is a Group Leader at Helmholtz Zentrum München, leading the Scialdone Lab within the Stem Cell Center and Epigenetics research groups. His research focuses on understanding molecular mechanisms of cell identity changes through single-cell and spatial omics analysis combined with physical modeling. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Naples Federico II, followed by postdoctoral work in the UK. Key research areas include embryo patterning, cell competition, cell migration, and olfactory neuron spatial organization.

Education:

• PhD in Fundamental and Applied Physics, University of Naples Federico II (Italy)
• Bachelor’s degree in Physics, University of Naples Federico II
• Postdoctoral positions at John Innes Centre (UK), EMBL-EBI, and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Research Interests:

• Decoding principles of cellular plasticity at single-cell and inter-cellular levels
• Role of cellular communication in collective decisions (e.g., embryo axis formation, cell competition)
• Applications in developmental biology, cancer, and aging

Recent Work Highlights:

• Studies on stem cell reprogramming heterogeneity and somatic cell memory
• Identification of molecular underpinnings of primordial germ cell development
• Development of algorithms for gene regulatory network inference (CIARA, Topological Benchmarking)

Advising and Lab Team:

• Supervises doctoral researchers Marco Stock, Gabriele Lubatti, and Veronica Finazzi
• Collaborates with experimental labs to integrate computational models with biological data

Labs and Affiliations:

• Part of Epigenetics@Helmholtz Munich
• Location: Building 90, Großhadern Campus