ESR10: Nora Selicato

Development of Human Cell-Based Models for Neurotrophic Therapeutic Testing

EuroNeurotrophin Research
Nora will conduct research in building a cell-based model of human neuronal function for use in the evaluation of candidate therapeutics with neurotrophic properties. The model shall be a representation of cells with human neuronal characteristics and functionality produced by the controlled differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). The project shall exploit existing methods for iPS differentiation into neuronal cells and shall apply know-how and proprietary technology which can translate the neuronal model into a commercially-practical screening tool.


Host
B7: AvantiCell Science Ltd., United Kingdom

Supervisor
Dr. Marie-Ann Ewart, AvantiCell Science Ltd.

Scientific Background
Nora has obtained her Bachelor degree in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at University of Bari, Italy, and her Master of Science degree in Industrial Biotechnology at University of Ferrara, Italy (2016). For her MSc internship she started a project on cystic fibrosis (CF), between the Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology at the University of Ferrara and the Department of Cell Biology at the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands, winning two fellowships. The project involved different CF cellular models, included intestinal organoids derived from patients to perform an assay used for drug screening and personalized therapy.
The experience she gained in 3D culture models, summed to her interest for in vitro models, has led Nora to join the EuroNeurotrophin project as a PhD candidate at AvantiCell Science Ltd, Scotland, UK