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
Matthew Disney, PhD, is Institute Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology and Founding Director of the Center for RNA Genomic Medicine. His research focuses on designing small molecules that target RNA to understand and treat genetic diseases. His laboratory has pioneered approaches to identify drug-like small molecules that bind structured RNAs and modulate their biology, including RNA degradation and splicing. Dr. Disney has published extensively, trained more than 150 scientists, founded biotechnology companies, and received several honors, including the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, the Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in the Physical Sciences, the ACS David W. Robertson Award in Medicinal Chemistry, the ACS Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.