Chiara Marchioro is a PhD student at the Istituto di Ricerca Pediatrica Città della Speranza, University of Padua in Italy who received an EACR Travel Fellowship to visit and work at the University College London in the UK between April and July 2024.
The EACR, with support from Worldwide Cancer Research, provides Travel Fellowships of up to €3,500 to enable early-career cancer researchers to gain new skills through a short-term visit to a lab or research group in another country.
You can read about other Travel Fellows and their experiences here.
Name: Chiara Marchioro
Job title: PhD student
Home institute: Istituto di Ricerca Pediatrica Città della Speranza, University of Padua, Italy
Host institute: University College London, UK
Dates of visit: 23 April – 19 July 2024
Other organisations that funded your trip: EMBO
Research: Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant brain tumour in children, with a 30% relapse rate despite treatment. My research focuses on BAGs protein family, which have been reported to be involved in both leukemia and solid cancers and tumours, such as in MB. I have discovered that the depletion of one of these BAGs (BAG6) can push MB cells to acquire muscle-like features, which is a characteristic that has been seen in rare and aggressive Medullomyoblastoma (MMB) cases. My research goal is to understand how BAG6 protein control the MMB onset.
Why did you choose to apply for an EACR Travel Fellowship?
I decided to apply for an EACR Travel Fellowship because it provided a unique opportunity to advance my research on medulloblastoma (MB). Specifically, the fellowship allowed me to work at the University College London and the Francis Crick Institute, where I could learn crucial techniques for manipulating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This training was essential for my project, which investigates the role of BAG proteins in MB cell differentiation and their potential involvement in the rare and aggressive Medullomyoblastoma (MMB). The support from the EACR was fundamental in gaining the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue these research goals. Additionally, given EACR’s dedication to support cancer research, from basic research to clinical field, it seemed the most suitable association to support and guide me in achieving my research objectives.
How did you choose the host lab?
I was looking to find both an excellent host lab and a prestigious host institution, which could provide me a high education level as well as ample opportunities to conduct my experiments.
Can you summarise the research you did?
I started to manipulate both immortalised myoblasts patient derived and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), to further start to perform many differentiation protocols with them. I differentiated immortalised myoblast cells both in 2D (myotubes formation) and in 3D (muscular organoids) to evaluated BAG6 expression and involvement in muscular development. Subsequently working with wild-type and two BAG6 KO iPSCs clones (available for this project) I investigated whether the absence of BAG6 can affect iPSCs stemness such as impairing the ability to differentiate in the three germ layers.
Additionally, I evaluated BAG6 levels of expression during iPSCs specification, and then differentiation to a muscle phenotype. In this context, I learned the differentiation protocols and their reads out, then how to analyse and be scientifically critic with these data. Furthermore, concerning the role of BAG6 in the pathogenesis of medullomyoblastoma, I extensively studied the acquired muscle phenotype in shBAG6 medulloblastoma cells thanks to Prof. Tedesco’s lab knowledge in muscle cell development.
Have you brought back any specific knowledge or technique that has benefited your home lab?
During my visit to the host lab, I acquired valuable knowledge and techniques that have greatly benefited my home lab. Specifically, I learned advanced methods for manipulating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and various cell differentiation protocols, including both muscular differentiation and differentiation into the three germ layers. Additionally, I gained expertise in the formation of three-dimensional muscle organoids and contractility assays. Thanks to the expertise that I brought back in my home lab, we will start to use iPSCs to generate in vitro cerebral organoids model as scaffold to recreate the tumour microenvironment, enhancing our capabilities in studying cancer.
Did you take part in any interesting local activities during your visit?
The Francis Crick Institute offered special internal meetings and cultural activities for PhD students every week, and I participated in some of them, such as the ‘painting day,’ where we had the opportunity to paint whatever we wanted. Additionally, one of the PhD students in the host lab completed his PhD while I was there, so I took part in an English PhD celebration. Furthermore, I attended the St. Patrick’s Day parade in London and the Chelsea Flower Show.
Does your lab plan to do any future collaboration or publication with the host lab?
This experience opens an important opportunity for my home lab to continue the collaboration initiated with the host lab, which we anticipate will result in one or hopefully more publications. Additionally, this experience has introduced my lab to the field of biological developmental studies, which was previously unexplored. We look forward to exploring further collaborations with the host lab in this exciting research area which resulted fundamental for understanding cancer development and onset.
How has the trip inspired you in your research?
This experience taught me that when everyone does their best, they can achieve great goals, and that the most important thing is to believe in oneself. Through this journey, I also had the opportunity to meet many talented young students, and their stories helped me to build my self-confidence and fueled my hunger for becoming part of a new generation of scientists.
How has this visit been beneficial to your research or your career?
Thanks to this visit I had the possibility to investigate with appropriate experiments BAG6 role in the normal development. In a brief period, I achieved promising results that I will never be able to discover with the same time remaining in my home lab. The data that I generated thanks this visit is crucial to finish my PhD project. Moreover, the cutting-edge techniques that I learned at Prof. Tedesco’s Lab and the possibility to work in between both the Francis Crick Institute and the University College London give prestigious to my career and provide me new opportunities, which I can evaluate for my future.
Want to find out more?
If you are interested in applying for the Travel Fellowship scheme, please click here for more information: EACR Travel Fellowships.
