Bio
Dr. Poliseno graduated in Biological Sciences in 2000 and got her PhD in Molecular Biotechnology in 2004, both at University of Pisa, Italy. In 2006, she moved to the US, where she became a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Pier Paolo Pandolfi, first at MSKCC in New York and then at BIDMC-HMS in Boston. In 2009, she started a second post-doc in the lab of Prof. Iman Osman at NYU. In 2012, she was appointed as Principal Investigator of the Oncogenomics Unit of ITT (now ISPRO) and in 2016 she became Staff Scientist at the Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council in Pisa, Italy, where her lab is located. Throughout her scientific career, Dr. Poliseno’s research interests have mostly revolved around non-coding RNAs (microRNAs, pseudogenes, ceRNAs) in cancer. Currently, the activities of the Poliseno lab are focused on the coding and non-coding regulatory networks of BRAFV600E isoforms in melanoma. They are also developing strategies for the selective delivery of drug combinations inside cancer cells, exploiting the attenuated bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.

Bio
Dr. Andrea Kasinski is a Full Professor in Biological Sciences at Purdue University, Deputy Director of the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research, and Co-Founder and CEO of LigamiR Therapeutics. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Emory University under the mentorship of Dr. Haian Fu before completing her postdoctoral training with Dr. Frank J. Slack at Yale University, where she focused on microRNA biology. In 2013, she joined Purdue University as a tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences. Dr. Kasinski’s research focuses on uncovering epigenetic mechanisms in cancer and translating these insights into novel therapeutics. She was among the first to demonstrate that therapeutic microRNAs can be effectively delivered without protective carriers, reducing the toxic side effects associated with traditional delivery vehicles. Additionally, she pioneered the development of a fully modified version of the tumor-suppressive microRNA, miR-34a—findings that have resulted in her establishing LigamiR Therapeutics, which she will highlight in her presentation.