Katiuscia Bianchi

Dr. Katiuscia Bianchi serves as a Reader (equivalent to Associate Professor) in Cell Biology at Queen Mary University of London's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, leading an active research group focused on cancer metabolism and inflammation. Her position as Group Leader and academic appointments demonstrate her core faculty role within the institution.

Her primary research investigates how obesity-associated inflammation rewires cellular metabolism to increase breast cancer risk, with specific emphasis on malignant transformation initiation, immune cell contributions (particularly dendritic cells and T cells), and drug resistance mechanisms. This work intersects cancer prevention, tumor cell targeting, cell signaling pathways, and metabolic reprogramming in oncogenesis.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on kinase-mediated metabolic pathways (IKKε/TBK1), serine metabolism in breast cancer, and inflammatory signaling in tumor microenvironments. Her work demonstrates strong translational potential through industry collaborations targeting metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer.

Dr. Bianchi has secured substantial competitive funding including a £497,000 Barts Charity Large Project Grant (2023-2025) for inhibiting serine metabolism in obese breast cancer patients, MRC and BBSRC studentships with Achilles Therapeutics and AstraZeneca, and a Medcity Collaborate to Innovate grant. She serves as academic lead for the MRC-DTP in Translational Immunology, Inflammation and Cancer.

She founded The London Inflammation Network, manages Queen Mary's metabolic flux analysis facility, co-leads the Cancer Biology BSc module, and participates in the Barts Metabolism Network, demonstrating extensive institutional leadership beyond her research program.