Raffaella Di Micco, PhD
Group Leader at San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, Italy
2020 NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Investigator
2013 NYSCF – Druckenmiller Fellow Alumna
PhD, European School of Modern Medicine
Postdoctoral Training, IFOM Foundation, Italy and New York University
Bio
Dr. Di Micco is a Group Leader at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, Italy, where she is working to optimize gene therapies that use hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) – stem cells that generate blood cells. Her work focuses on the biological impact of gene editing procedures on HSPCs for gene therapy applications and regenerative medicine, aiming for sustainable, safe, and clinically broad HSPC-based treatments. She completed her postdoctoral studies at the IFOM Foundation, Italy, and New York University.
Dr. Di Micco aimed to unfold the role of BET proteins, a family of proteins that regulate chromatins, the building blocks of chromosomes, in order to see whether they kept embryonic stem cells healthy and allowed them to become different cell types. Specifically, she inhibited the expression of BET proteins in stem cells, which led to effects in multiple kinds of stem cells. She is using this research in her current independent position, where she is focusing on stem cell aging and cancer. She completed her postdoctoral studies at MSKCC in Dr. Eva Hernando’s lab.