Elisa Oricchio (born 1979) is an Italian cancer researcher and associate professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. She discovered that EphA7 activates the tumor suppressor gene for patients with follicular lymphoma and was awarded the Lorini Foundation Award and Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists for her discovery.

Elisa Oricchio
Born1979 (age 44–45)
NationalityItalian
Alma materSapienza University of Rome
University of Rome Tor Vergata
OccupationCell biologist
Years active2010–present
EmployerÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Known forIdentifying the ephrin receptor A7 (EphA7) triggers tumor suppression in follicular lymphoma
Websitehttps://www.epfl.ch/labs/oricchiolab/

Biography

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Elisa Oricchio was born in 1979[1] and grew up in Cilento, Italy.[2] She earned a bachelor's degree and went on to[3] attain a master's degree in biology from Sapienza University of Rome.[4] In 2008, she earned her PhD in Medical Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Oricchio moved to the United States almost immediately to begin her post-doctorate research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. In her research, she identified in 2011 that tumor cells treated with pure EphA7, an anti-tumor protein, died, which was a significant discovery in a rarely researched field.[5] Her discovery was awarded with a grant from Sloan Kettering and a Fellowship from the Lymphoma Research Foundation[4] to make further studies of follicular lymphoma.[5] In addition to the research funds, she received the Lorini Foundation Award on 7 May 2012 in Milan, Italy[6] and the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in New York City, the same year.[4]

In 2012, her research identified that nearly 70% of patients with follicular lymphoma have lost the EphA7 receptor[5] and she was experimenting with methods of reintroducing the protein into the cells.[4] Because there has been no cure success with traditional chemotherapies,[7] Oricchio's work has repeatedly been funded. She was awarded a second Fellowship from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society[4] and a grant from the US National Institutes of Health.[7] In 2013, she was awarded with a plaque from the town of Vallo della Lucania in her home region of Italy for her research,[2][8] which was successful in developing a mouse model.[9] In 2014, she was hired by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology as a researcher and to support creation of the new Swiss Cancer Center in Lausanne at the Lausanne University Hospital.[1] The Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research created an endowed chair in Translational Oncology for Oricchio and effective 1 November 2014, she became a tenured assistant professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, School of Life Sciences.[9] In September 2021, she was promoted associate professor.[10]

Selected publications

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References

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  1. ^ a b "24 new professors at the two Federal Institutes of Technology". Zürich, Switzerland: EthRat. 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Negli Usa è al top della ricerca medica: premiata a Vallo la cilentana Elisa Oricchio" (in Italian). Napoli, Italy: Corriere del Mezzogiorno. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  3. ^ Santomauro, Antonella (28 April 2011). "Elisa Oricchio ha fatto il grande passo verso la grande mela con una laurea in biologia" (in Italian). Italy: Mollo Tutto. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Elisa Oricchio". New York, New York: Blavatnick Awards. 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b c "New Grantees" (PDF). Research Report. 10 (1). New York, New York: Lymphoma Research Foundation: 7. Winter 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  6. ^ "Premiazione 2011" (in Italian). Milan, Italy: Fondazione Lorini. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b Oricchio, Elisa (2014). "Dissecting the Genetics Of Follicular Lymphoma To Find New Therapies". Grantome. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Festeggiata Elisa Oricchio, di Vallo della Lucania, famosa ricercatrice sul linfoma follicolare" (in Italian). Cilento, Italy: Cilento Notizie. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  9. ^ a b Comm, Sv-Do- (31 October 2014). "A warm welcome to Elisa Oricchio!". Lausanne, Switzerland: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  10. ^ "ETH Board".
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