Dr. Elena Dellambra

Dr. Elena Dellambra was trained at the Genetic Laboratory of the University of Pisa and the Biochemistry Laboratory of the University of Genoa. She worked under the supervision of Prof. M. De Luca from 1992 to 2002 at the National Cancer Institute (Genoa) and at IDI-IRCCS (Rome) on epithelial stem cells and ex vivo gene therapy for patients suffering from genodermatoses. Then, she led projects focused on keratinocyte stem cell maintenance, skin aging, and cancer. She developed protocols for 3D organotypic skin models for research and clinical purposes (e.g., for chronic ulcers). To this end, she acquired specific competence in the GMP field aimed at the production of autologous cell therapy products. Now, she leads projects on the role of the skin microenvironment in aging and non-melanoma skin cancer pathogenesis and is coordinating a clinical study aimed at investigating specific profiles predictive of nicotinamide chemo-preventative efficacy.