Sara Franceschi

Dr Franceschi graduated in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology from the University of Pisa in 2010 and obtained her PhD in Molecular and Experimental Oncology in 2014. Her PhD project focused on the identification of molecular markers to predict outcome in patients with glioblastoma (GBM). During the last year of her PhD, she completed a research internship at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, in the laboratory of Dr. Jason T. Huse, where she deepened her knowledge of brain tumour biology.

Since 2014, Dr Franceschi has been working at the Fondazione Pisana per la Scienza as a researcher in the genomics group of Dr Chiara Maria Mazzanti. Her work focuses on GBM, integrating molecular and cellular approaches to study tumour biology and treatment response. She has developed strong expertise in genomics and transcriptomics, as well as in functional cellular studies aimed at elucidating key mechanisms involved in glioblastoma progression and heterogeneity.

In addition to these areas, she has extensive experience in advanced 3D cell culture systems, including the generation of organoids and tumour explants from patient samples, primarily used to characterise the tumour microenvironment, with a particular focus on the immune compartment. Her studies include the qualitative and quantitative analysis of immune subpopulations within these models. In addition, Dr Franceschi has expertise in liquid biopsies and extracellular vesicles, in particular exosomes, where she isolates and analyses their molecular content for biomarker discovery, as well as their in vitro production and role in intercellular communication within the tumour microenvironment.

Currently, Dr. Franceschi is involved in the AIRC 2024 research project awarded to her group, leading the MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI) component. In this role, she applies MALDI-MSI to analyze glioblastoma tissue sections, focusing on the spatial distribution of lipids and metabolites with high spatial resolution.