Roberto Ferrari

Roberto Ferrari serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical, Life and Environmental Sustainability Sciences at the University of Parma, teaching in Master's programs for Biomolecular, Genomic and Cellular Sciences and Genomic, Cellular and Industrial Biotechnologies. His research focuses on epigenetic reprogramming mechanisms in cancer development and cellular identity transitions.

His academic foundation includes a specialization in Molecular Oncology and PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Pathology from the University of Parma under Giorgio Dieci. He expanded his expertise through postdoctoral work at UCLA with Siavash Kurdistani and Arnold Berk on tumor epigenomics, followed by senior research in Miguel Beato's laboratory at Barcelona's Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) studying hormone-sensitive tumors.

Prof. Ferrari's laboratory investigates three core epigenetic phenomena: histone acetylation as a pH rheostat in cancer cells, DNA tumor virus-induced epigenome reorganization that hijacks normal cells, and histone tail acetylation's role in 3D genome restructuring for gene expression reprogramming. This work bridges fundamental chromatin dynamics with translational cancer applications.

His publication record shows consistent output in epigenetics and cancer genomics, with recent work exploring adenovirus-chromatin interactions, epigenetic pacemakers, breast cancer membrane signaling, and 3D chromatin organization. These studies demonstrate methodological integration of molecular biology, genomics, and computational approaches.

He actively mentors through teaching roles including Genome Editing Methods, Structure and Expression of Eukaryotic Genomes, and NGS Experiment Analysis across multiple academic years (2019/2020-2025/2026). Additional responsibilities include serving as reference teacher for Master's programs, internship coordination, and university representation in the Consortium of Universities for Biotechnology (2023-2025).

Prof. Ferrari leads an active research group applying cutting-edge genomic techniques to study epigenetic drivers of breast cancer and viral oncogenesis, maintaining collaborations with institutions including UCLA and CRG while training next-generation genomic scientists through structured academic programs.