Innovation Lab
Elvira Smeralda Famulari
Elvira Smeralda Famulari is a molecular biologist, with a strong background in cell biology. She graduated in Molecular Biology at the University of Parma, where she worked in the field of molecular genetics, studying the molecular basis of human mitochondrial diseases by use of yeast models. She then moved to Turin where she obtained a PhD in Molecular Medicine at the Molecular Biotechnology Center-University of Turin. During her doctoral and postdoctoral fellow in Turin, she investigated several approaches for using stem cells and derived microvesicles in the regeneration of damaged tissues, with particular interest for hepatic diseases. She also developed a new innovative immunocompromised mouse model for Crigler Najjar type I syndrome and demonstrated that stem cells could be used for recovery of metabolic defects. This discovery represents a promising tool for the treatment of these pathologies as an alternative to gene therapy.
Now, in the Center for Omics Sciences, she manages and coordinates several pilot projects, with specific clinical needs, arose from the collaboration between COSR and a well-established pharmaceutical company. Currently, this pivotal collaboration involves several units of IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele. This partnership has the objective of developing a platform for single cell analysis, starting from human liquid or solid biopsies, taking advantage of new and advanced technologies, e.g. microfluidic devices, innovative automatic image-based sorting and cutting edge NGS instruments. The downstream single cell genome sequencing analysis can give specific ad-hoc information to patients, getting towards high precision and personalized medicine with clinical application in multiple fields.