Scopus ID: 8693588700

Dr Persano graduated in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in 2005 at the University of Padua. Since his PhD studentship in Oncology and Surgical Oncology at University of Padua, Dr Persano’s studies have been focused on dissecting the molecular pathways underlying cancer progression and resistance to therapy, with particular focus on the role played by tumor microenvironment. Indeed, in the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Gene Therapy directed by Dr Indraccolo, in which he achieved his PhD in 2009, his project was committed to study the process of tumor angiogenesis and exploit its potential inhibition as a therapeutic strategy in different tumors including prostate, ovarian, esophageal and colon cancers. In 2009 Dr Persano moved to the Laboratory of Pediatric Oncohematology directed by Prof. Basso, in which he focused his interests in brain tumor biology with particular emphasis in unveiling the mechanisms by which brain tumor microenvironment (i.e. hypoxia) influences the activation of many developmental pathways, including Bone Morphogenetic Proteins, Wnt and Notch signaling and how they cooperatively affect brain tumor biology, aggressiveness and phenotype. In this context, in the recent years the Brain Tumors Team developed a multilayer model of Glioblastoma in which they characterized the activation of the hypoxic signaling and its crosstalk with Glioblastoma cancer stem cells. Dr Persano’s studies on Glioblastoma have been granted by the University of Padua (Young Investigator Grant 2010) for the development of a two-year project as independent PI with full scientific and financial responsibilities. In particular, the project was committed to the study of BMP2 as a reliable pro-differentiating molecule to induce glioblastoma cell differentiation. Dr Persano is the PI of the Biology of CNS pediatric tumors unit in the Laboratory of Pediatric at the Woman and Child’s health Department, Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant of the Padua University, currently located at the Institute of Pediatric Research, where he obtained the position of Research Associate in 2018.The Consolidator IRP Grant granted to Dr Persano for the two-year period 2018-2019 allowed him to study the mechanisms of therapy resistance in pediatric medulloblastoma tumor by setting up novel models of drug resistant medulloblastoma cells. This laid the foundations for the recent achievement of individual grants from the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research and CARIPARO Foundation, for a total amount of almost 500000 euro obtained in the lasts 3 years devoted to study the molecular basis of drug resistance in medulloblastoma and to exploit recently developed cellular models for identifying specific drugs against therapy-resistant medulloblastoma cells. Moreover, he participates to the development of additional brain tumor-focused projects (AIRC, JUST and H2020) in which he serves as a team member. Dr Persano’s scientific production is based on the publication of 44 original papers, being in 18 of them the first, last or corresponding author (H-index=20).

E-mail: l.persano@irpcds.org