Michele De Palma
Italian biologist
Michele 'Miki' De Palma (born 1973, Italy ) is an Italian biologist and a professor at EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) . He is known for his work on the role of macrophages in cancer progression and the discovery of Tie2 -expressing angiogenic monocytes .[ 1]
Career
De Palma obtained a master's degree in biology from the University of Turin in 1999 after defending his thesis on the cytostatic effects of type-I interferons on cancer cells . He then obtained a PhD in 2004 in the laboratory of Luigi Naldini, where he studied the effet of bone marrow-derived cells on tumor angiogenesis , and performed post-doctoral work at the Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan , further dissecting the role of macrophages and their potential use as a target for gene therapy in the treatment of cancer .[ 2]
De Palma was appointed group leader at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in 2008. In 2012, he was named tenure-track assistant Professor at EPFL , where he was promoted to associate Professor in 2018.[ 3]
Research
De Palma heads the Angiogenesis and Tumor Microenvironment group at EPFL . His research focuses on the influence of the tumor microenvironment on cancer progression.[ 4] De Palma and colleagues use genetic models of cancer as well as genetically engineered cells to decipher the complex interactions occurring between tumor cells, blood vessels , immune cells and exosomes in the tumor microenvironment .
De Palma is known for having discovered a subpopulation of Tie2 -positive monocytes endowed with angiogenic capabilities, and which elicit tumor progression.[ 5] He later showed that inhibition of the Tie2 -ligand Angiopoietin 2 induces tumor regression and inhibits metastasis by preventing angiogenesis .[ 6] He also identified expression of Angiopoietin 2 as an adaptive resistance mechanism upon anti-angiogenic treatment by VEGF inhibitors in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer .[ 7]
The laboratory of De Palma explores novel therapeutic strategies to overcome resistance to cancer immunotherapies . De Palma and colleagues notably showed that dual inhibition of Tie2 and VEGF-A promotes anti-tumor immunity and potentiates treatment by immune checkpoint inhibitors.[ 8] [ 9] They also identified microRNAs as potential targets to reprogram tumor-associated macrophages and to promote their anti-tumoral immune functions.[ 10] [ 11]
De Palma and colleagues also explore the role of extracellular vesicles in cancer progression and resistance to therapy. In 2019, they showed that chemotherapy stimulates the release of tumor-derivered pro-metastatic exosomes .[ 12] [ 13] [ 14] De Palma's group also developed a new generation of cancer vaccine based on dendritic cells engineered with a chimeric receptor called EVIR , designed to internalize tumor-derived exosomes and associated cancer antigens , thus stimulating anti-tumor immunity.[ 15]
De Palma has also published multiple studies on the taxonomy of scarabaeidae , including the description of several new species.[ 16] [ 17]
Distinctions
In 2013, De Palma was awarded with the Leenaards Scientific Prize for his research on anti-angiogenic therapies and cancer immunotherapy.[ 18] He also received the Robert Wenner Prize in 2017, presented by the Swiss Cancer League.[ 19] [ 20]
De Palma received a starting grant in 2009 and a consolidator grant in 2016 from the European Research Council .[ 21]
De Palma serves on the scientific advisory and editorial board of several peer-reviewed scientific journals, such as Science Translational Medicine ,[ 22] Cell Reports ,[ 23] BBA Reviews on Cancer [ 24] and Cancer Immunology Research. [ 25]
References
^ "Michele De Palma" . people.epfl.ch . Retrieved 2020-09-10 .
^ "Michele De Palma | VIB Conferences" . www.vibconferences.be . Retrieved 2020-09-10 .
^ "15 new professors appointed at the two Federal Institutes of Technology" . www.seco.admin.ch . Retrieved 2020-09-10 .
^ "Research Activities" . www.epfl.ch . Retrieved 2020-09-10 .
^ De Palma, Michele; Venneri, Mary Anna; Galli, Rossella; Sergi, Lucia Sergi; Politi, Letterio S.; Sampaolesi, Maurilio; Naldini, Luigi (2005-09-01). "Tie2 identifies a hematopoietic lineage of proangiogenic monocytes required for tumor vessel formation and a mesenchymal population of pericyte progenitors" . Cancer Cell . 8 (3): 211–226. doi :10.1016/j.ccr.2005.08.002 . ISSN 1535-6108 . PMID 16169466 .
^ Mazzieri, Roberta; Pucci, Ferdinando; Moi, Davide; Zonari, Erika; Ranghetti, Anna; Berti, Alvise; Politi, Letterio S.; Gentner, Bernhard; Brown, Jeffrey L.; Naldini, Luigi; De Palma, Michele (2011-04-12). "Targeting the ANG2/TIE2 Axis Inhibits Tumor Growth and Metastasis by Impairing Angiogenesis and Disabling Rebounds of Proangiogenic Myeloid Cells" . Cancer Cell . 19 (4): 512–526. doi :10.1016/j.ccr.2011.02.005 . ISSN 1535-6108 . PMID 21481792 .
^ Rigamonti, Nicolò; Kadioglu, Ece; Keklikoglou, Ioanna; Wyser Rmili, Céline; Leow, Ching Ching; De Palma, Michele (2014-08-07). "Role of Angiopoietin-2 in Adaptive Tumor Resistance to VEGF Signaling Blockade" . Cell Reports . 8 (3): 696–706. doi :10.1016/j.celrep.2014.06.059 . ISSN 2211-1247 . PMID 25088418 .
^ Schmittnaegel, Martina; Rigamonti, Nicolò; Kadioglu, Ece; Cassará, Antonino; Rmili, Céline Wyser; Kiialainen, Anna; Kienast, Yvonne; Mueller, Hans-Joachim; Ooi, Chia-Huey; Laoui, Damya; Palma, Michele De (2017-04-12). "Dual angiopoietin-2 and VEGFA inhibition elicits antitumor immunity that is enhanced by PD-1 checkpoint blockade" . Science Translational Medicine . 9 (385): eaak9670. doi :10.1126/scitranslmed.aak9670 . ISSN 1946-6234 . PMID 28404865 . S2CID 8114974 .
^ "Targeting blood vessels to improve cancer immunotherapy" . ScienceDaily . Retrieved 2020-09-15 .
^ Squadrito, Mario Leonardo; Pucci, Ferdinando; Magri, Laura; Moi, Davide; Gilfillan, Gregor D.; Ranghetti, Anna; Casazza, Andrea; Mazzone, Massimiliano; Lyle, Robert; Naldini, Luigi; De Palma, Michele (2012-02-23). "miR-511-3p Modulates Genetic Programs of Tumor-Associated Macrophages" . Cell Reports . 1 (2): 141–154. doi :10.1016/j.celrep.2011.12.005 . hdl :2318/1841516 . ISSN 2211-1247 . PMID 22832163 .
^ Baer, Caroline; Squadrito, Mario Leonardo; Laoui, Damya; Thompson, Danielle; Hansen, Sarah K.; Kiialainen, Anna; Hoves, Sabine; Ries, Carola H.; Ooi, Chia-Huey; De Palma, Michele (July 2016). "Suppression of microRNA activity amplifies IFN-γ-induced macrophage activation and promotes anti-tumour immunity" . Nature Cell Biology . 18 (7): 790–802. doi :10.1038/ncb3371 . ISSN 1476-4679 . PMID 27295554 . S2CID 20788521 .
^ Keklikoglou, Ioanna; Cianciaruso, Chiara; Güç, Esra; Squadrito, Mario Leonardo; Spring, Laura M.; Tazzyman, Simon; Lambein, Lore; Poissonnier, Amanda; Ferraro, Gino B.; Baer, Caroline; Cassará, Antonino (February 2019). "Chemotherapy elicits pro-metastatic extracellular vesicles in breast cancer models" . Nature Cell Biology . 21 (2): 190–202. doi :10.1038/s41556-018-0256-3 . ISSN 1476-4679 . PMC 6525097 . PMID 30598531 .
^ "Exosomes Linked to Cancer Spread from Chemoresistant Tumors in Mice" . The Scientist Magazine® . Retrieved 2020-09-15 .
^ "Tumors backfire on chemotherapy" . EurekAlert! . Retrieved 2020-09-15 .
^ Squadrito, Mario Leonardo; Cianciaruso, Chiara; Hansen, Sarah K.; De Palma, Michele (March 2018). "EVIR: chimeric receptors that enhance dendritic cell cross-dressing with tumor antigens" . Nature Methods . 15 (3): 183–186. doi :10.1038/nmeth.4579 . ISSN 1548-7105 . PMC 5833950 . PMID 29355847 .
^ De Palma, Michele; Takano, Hitoshi; Léonard, Philippe; Bouyer, Thierry (2020). "Barcoding analysis and taxonomic revision of Goliathus Lamarck, 1802 (Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae)" (PDF) . Entemologia Africana . 25 (1): 11–32.
^ "Data scaraebaeoidea Bibliography" . Retrieved 16 September 2020 .
^ "Cibler l'angiogenèse et les réseaux immunosuppresseurs pour améliorer le traitement des cancers du sein et de l'ovaire" . Fondation Leenaards - Favoriser la dynamique créatrice (in French). Retrieved 2020-09-15 .
^ "Lauréats du Prix Robert Wenner depuis 1983" (PDF) (in French).
^ Papageorgiou, Nik (30 November 2017). "Michele De Palma wins 2017 Swiss Cancer League prize" . epfl.ch . Retrieved 15 September 2020 .
^ "ERC FUNDED PROJECTS" . ERC: European Research Council . Retrieved 2020-09-15 .
^ "Editorial staff and scientific advisory boards | Science Translational Medicine" . stm.sciencemag.org . Retrieved 2020-09-15 .
^ "Cell Press: Cell Reports" . www.cell.com . Retrieved 2020-09-15 .
^ "Editorial board - Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Reviews on Cancer | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier" . www.sciencedirect.com . Retrieved 2020-09-15 .
^ "Editorial Board | Cancer Immunology Research" . cancerimmunolres.aacrjournals.org . Retrieved 2020-09-15 .
External links
International National Academics