Regulation of iron metabolism

Antonella Nai

Antonella Nai

Email: nai.antonella@hsr.it
Location: DIBIT1 A3, Floor 4, Room 83

Group Leader, Regulation of iron metabolism

I am group leader of the “Regulation of Iron Metabolism Unit” within the Division of Genetics and Cell Biology in IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele since 2020. I had my degree with laude in Molecular Biotechnology in 2007 and my PhD in Medicine and Experimental Therapy in 2013 from the University of Turin (Italy). I have been trained by Clara Camaschella for several years, acquiring a strong expertise in genetics and biology of iron homeostasis, with a special focus on the iron-erythropoiesis crosstalk and its targeting for therapeutic purposes.

Among my achievements, especially relevant are the demonstration that the deletion of the serine protease Tmprss6, increasing hepcidin levels and limiting iron absorption, significantly improves anemia and erythropoiesis in β-thalassemia mice, and the characterization of the erythroid function of Transferrin Receptor 2 as a negative regulator of erythropoiesis and a promising therapeutic target for anemia of genetic and acquired etiology.

Over the years, I received financial support for my research from several national and international granting agency: the European Hematology Association, the US Cooley’s Anemia Foundation, the US National Blood Foundation, the American Society of Hematology, the Cariplo Foundation, the Italian Ministry of Health (including a PNNR grant) and the Telethon Foundation. I have also been awarded an industrial research grant from Celgene (a Bristol-Myers Squibb company).                                                   

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