Stefano Santaguida, PhD - "Mechanistic Insights into the Consequences of Chromosome Segregation Errors on Cell Physiology"

Abstract
Genome integrity is maintained through faithful chromosome segregation at each cell division, in which one copy of a duplicated chromosome is deposited in each daughter cell. Errors in this process lead to aneuploidy, a condition in which cells carry an abnormal karyotype. Aneuploidy is the most common chromosome aberration in humans and is a widespread feature of solid tumors. To shed light on how aneuploidy contributes to tumorigenesis, it is crucial to determine how this condition impacts normal cells and to determine the immediate consequences of an imbalanced karyotype on cellular functions. Our work seeks to decipher how aneuploidy affects cell physiology by identifying and characterizing the pathways deregulated in human cells following chromosome segregation errors.  To tackle this biological question, we use a combination of cell biology, molecular biology and genome editing techniques. Our goal is to expand our understanding of the biology of aneuploid cells and to identify specific features that can be targeted in cancer therapy.


Stefano Santaguida CV