Education
- 2015: Ph.D. in Life and Biomolecular Sciences The Open University, Milton Keynes UK; Affiliated Research Centre Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Rozzano (Milan) ITALY
- 2009: Degree and Master in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology University of Salerno, Fisciano, ITALY.
Advanced Training Courses and Qualifications
- 2021: “EMBO Laboratory Leadership” held by European Molecular Biology Organization, Germany
- 2021: “Information Security and Data Protection” held by The University of Manchester, UK
- 2019: “Research Integrity” held by Epigeum-Oxford University Press, UK
- 2016: “Essential Data Analysis Skills for Biologists” held by The University of Cambridge, UK
Academic Background
I obtained a master degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology at the University of Salerno (Italy) in 2009 by defending a thesis on the effect of Toll-like receptor 9 agonists in modulating immune responses in lung cancer.
In 2010 I joined the laboratory of Prof. Cecilia Garlanda and Prof. Alberto Mantovani to study the inflammatory processes associated with cancer development and progression.
In 2014, I was awarded a fellowship from the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research (FIRC-AIRC). In 2015 I obtained a Ph.D. in Immunology and Life Sciences from The Open University (Milton Keynes, UK) and Humanitas Clinical and Research Centre. During my doctoral studies, I uncovered the essential role of Pentraxin 3 and the Complement system in regulating tumor-promoting inflammation.
Moreover, I studied the properties of Interleukin-1 receptor 8 in controlling NK cell activity and I described its role as an NK cell checkpoint receptor in both viral infections and anti-tumor immunity. Notably, these discoveries were recognized by the ACTERIA-EFIS award as the best Ph.D. thesis in Immunology in Europe (2015-2018).
In 2016 I joined the group led by Dr. Santiago Zelenay at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, where I was awarded an EMBO long-term fellowship in 2016 and an EMBO advanced fellowship in 2019 to investigate the mechanisms of immune evasion in cancer driven by cyclooxygenase 2/prostaglandin E2 axis, in a project with extensive translational potential.
After more than 6 years in the UK, in 2022, thanks to the AIRC start-up program, I joined the IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital to lead the Cellular and Molecular Oncoimmunology Lab. My group focuses on understanding the instructive mechanisms of immune escape in cancer with the aim of designing new therapeutic strategies for patients.
Academic Honors, Awards and Prices
- 2021: AIRC Start-up Grant 2021 (1 million € for 5 years) awarded by AIRC
- 2020: British Association for Cancer Research travel award
- 2019: EMBO Advanced Fellowship (£79.830 for 2 years) granted by European Molecular Biology Organization
- 2019: “Keystone Symposia Future of Science Fund scholarship” travel award to attend the Keystone meeting on “Innate and Non-Classical Immune Cells in Cancer Immunotherapy”, Keystone, Colorado.
- 2018: Doctoral Prize in Immunology (150.000 € for 3 years) awarded by ACTERIA and EFIS; Prize for best doctoral thesis in Immunology 2015-2018
- 2017: Award “Young innovator-Italy 2017” – MIT Technology Review Italy
- 2016: EMBO long-term Fellowship (£61.048 for 2 years) granted by European Molecular Biology Organization
- 2016: Award “Premio Marzia Galli Kienle” – SOS Foundation (Fondazione Solidarieta’ in Oncologia San Marco- Zingonia)
- 2016: Award “Premio Marisa Colbacchini” – Carlo Erba Foundation and ASIS
- 2015: Award “Prix Galien Italy 2015”
- 2015: NIBIT travel award to attend the “Cancer: Inflammation and Immunity” meeting. Finalborgo, Italy
- 2015: Award for best oral presentation “Bright Spark Award” at the 4th European congress of immunology. Wien, Austria
- 2015: EFIS travel award to attend the 4th European congress of immunology. Wien, Austria
- 2015: Poster award “8th International Conference on Complement Therapeutics”. Chania, Greece
- 2015: Seahorse Travel award to attend the Cell Symposia “Cancer, Inflammation and Immunity” Sitges, Spain
- 2015: Award for best oral presentation at Word Immune Regulation Meeting 2015. Davos, Switzerland
- 2014: FIRC-Fellowship for Italy 2014 (75.000 € for 3 years) granted by the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research
- 2014: Award for best oral presentation at the Ph.D. student retreat of the Italian Society of Immunology and Allergology, Bari
Establishing the role of conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) in liver carcinogenesis As the archetypal antigen-presenting cells, cDCs sense microenvironmental signals and recognize pathogens, which activates various effector functions from cytotoxic lymphocyte activation to tolerance. Among the cDCs, type 1 conventional DCs (cDC1) are essential for cross-priming tumor-specific lymphocytes and in response to anti-cancer immunotherapy. By conducting a comprehensive cellular and molecular profile of the immune compartment in different syngeneic tumor models, including liver cancer, we observed the presence of transcriptionally distinct cDC states. Based on this observation, we hypothesize that cDCs can acquire unique phenotypes that can either support or regulate anti-tumor immune responses within tumour tissues. Analysis of systemic inflammatory responses in liver cancer and human validation Cancer is a complex and multifactorial disease that continually evolves during progression and treatment. To comprehend how the local inflammatory response and systemic immune changes interact, we are investigating the transcriptional changes occurring within the leukocyte compartment at the single-cell level during liver cancer progression and treatment. Finally, we are working to implement an innovative patient-derived tumor explant platform that replicates the complexity of human tumor architecture to assess the implications of our preclinical work in human settings.
- Bonavita E, Bromley CP, Jonsson G, Pelly VS, Sahoo S, Walwyn-Brown K, Mensurado S, Moeini A, Flanagan E, Bell CR, Chiang SC, Chikkanna-Gowda CP, Rogers N, Silva-Santos B, Jaillon S, Mantovani A, Reis E Sousa C, Guerra N, Davis DM, Zelenay S. Antagonistic Inflammatory Phenotypes Dictate Tumor Fate and Response to Immune Checkpoint Blockade. Immunity. 2020 Dec 15;53(6):1215-1229.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2020.10.020.
- Böttcher JP, Bonavita E, Chakravarty P, Blees H, Cabeza-Cabrerizo M, Stefano Sammicheli S, Rogers NC, Sahai E, Zelenay S, and Reis e Sousa C. NK cells stimulate recruitment of cDC1 into the tumor microenvironment promoting cancer immune control. Cell 2018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.01.004
- Bonavita E, Pelly V S and Zelenay S. Resolving the dark side of therapy-driven cancer cell death. J Exp Med 2018 doi:10.1084/jem.20172044
- Molgora M*, Bonavita E*, Ponzetta A, Riva F, Barbagallo M, Jaillon S, Popović B, Bernardini G, Magrini E, Gianni F, Zelenay S, Jonjić S, Santoni S, Garlanda C, Mantovani A. IL-1R8 is a checkpoint in NK cells regulating anti- tumor and anti-viral activity. Nature 2017 doi: 10.1038/nature24293 *Co-First Author
- Bonavita E, Gentile S, Rubino M, Maina V, Papait R, Kunderfranco P, Greco C, Feruglio F, Molgora M, Laface I, Tartari S, Doni A, Pasqualini F, Barbati E, Basso G, Galdiero M R, Nebuloni M, Roncalli M, Colombo P, Laghi L, Lambris J D, Jaillon S, Garlanda C, Mantovani A. PTX3 is an extrinsic oncosuppressor regulating complement-dependent inflammation in cancer. Cell 2015. 160(4):700-14.