Nicola Mora
- Post by: fantom
- 20 May 2025
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Introduction
Hi, my name is Nicola Mora from Italy, Lombardy. I started my science journey a few years ago with a Bachelor Degree in Biological Sciences at Eastern Piedmont University. Then I deepen my studies in the medical field during my Master in Medical Biotechnology at University of Turin. Here, during my Master thesis I worked on the validation and optimization of a droplet digital PCR assay for the evaluation of donor derived cell free DNA as an early marker of rejection in heart transplants. After 1 year of research fellowship at Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico of Milan, where I gained more experience in basic wet lab techniques, I finally joined the FANTOM consortium and the Merkel lab at Medical University of Vienna.
Here I moved my first steps in the cancer research field and I’m focusing on the study of the role of the Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 1 (STAT1) in the context of Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL). As part of my research I work with a transgenic ALCL mouse model where STAT1 is either normally expressed or genetically knocked-out, exclusively in the T-cell compartment; with this approach we could understand the effect of STAT1 expression on tumorigenesis and our results suggested that STAT1 has an tumor suppressor activity in the context of ALCL. In parallel, through a scientific collaboration, we began to test a novel drug, which can activate STAT1, on ALCL cell lines in vitro, as well as in vivo in two different experimental settings (immune-deficient and immune-competent). Due to the promising results we now started to deepen our insight in the mechanism of action and performed a proteomics and phospho-proteomics assay to compare treated and untreated cells with the aforementioned drug.
As part of my scientific training, I will soon start my academic secondment at Technical University of Munich (TUM) where, under the supervision of Professor Lena Illert, I will perform an OPAL-multiplex immunohistochemistry to generate an immune-map of tumors and draining lymph nodes derived from my previous mouse experiment to investigate the immune-stimulating effects of the experimental drug.
During my off time from the lab, I like to indulge in some hobbies that I foster since my adoloscence like hiking, biking and skiing and luckily I am here in Austria that is renowned everywhere to have some of the best spots for these activities.
