Letizia Marchetti

About

I obtained the degree in Biotechnology in 2015 at the University of Bologna in Italy. My undergraduate lab project focused on the creation of genomic clones of the human Parvovirus B19 with the aim of test them for their ability to infect target cells. The project was mainly based on Molecular Biology techniques and due to this internship my interest in this specific field of Biology started growing. For this reason, I decided to continue with studies and most recently I have obtained the Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Master Degree cum Laude in February 2018 from University of Bologna. My Masters lab project focused on generating a marked improvement of an existing molecular tool, namely an inducible intrabody, able to detect and bind DNA structures known as R-loops, formed by a RNA-DNA hybrid during transcription. This second internship confirmed my interest in Molecular Biology and especially for Epigenetics.

I joined the Newcastle Fibrosis Research Group in March 2018 as a Technician, working on the mechanism by which the ancestral liver damage can lead to heritable reprogramming of hepatic wound healing through epigenetic bookmarkers in the sperm.

I consider to have had a great start to my scientific career and so I applied for a PhD under the supervision of Jelena Mann, Caroline Wilson and Derek Mann. The aim of my project is to elucidate the epigenetic control exerted by p50, one of the subunits of the transcription factor NF-κB, due to its importance in many processes, such as inflammation and ageing. Previous studies confirmed that p50 can act as a repressor of inflammatory genes when found in homodimers. Further investigations will reveal new and novel findings that will advance our understanding of the molecular control of inflammation, ageing and cancer.