Gabriele Tancreda

Gabriele Tancreda is a biologist nutritionist who graduated cum laude with a Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition Sciences (Biomedical curriculum) from the University of Pisa in 2024.

His laboratory experience began in 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Isabella Panfoli, during the preparation of his Bachelor’s experimental thesis, which focused on investigating the role of a naturally derived bioactive compound in the modulation of oxidative stress in a bovine retina model.

After obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Genoa in 2021, and concurrently with his Master’s studies, he spent two years at the Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES) of the University of Genoa as an extracurricular thesis student (not formally included in the academic curriculum). During this period, he developed new experimental protocols and conducted studies aimed at elucidating the role of two flavonoids, cirsiliol and quercetin, in modulating ATP production and energy homeostasis in methicillin-resistant bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, isolated from blood samples of patients treated at the Genoa University Hospital.

He subsequently moved to Pisa, where he carried out a 10-month research traineeship as a thesis
student at the Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology of the National Research Council
(CNR) for the completion of his Master’s Degree. The research project focused on investigating the
nutraceutical activity and the potential antisteatotic and antioxidant effects of a food matrix in an in
vivo model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Following the completion of his Master’s Degree in October 2024, he was awarded an 11-month  postgraduate research fellowship funded by the University of Genoa in December of the same year. Through this fellowship, he worked within the Nuclear Medicine Unit guided by Prof. Gian Mario Sambuceti at the Center of Advanced Biotechnologies of the Genoa Polyclinic Hospital. During this period, he expanded his expertise in cellular and molecular biology, gene silencing techniques, and the study of energy metabolism in cellular models of glioblastoma and breast cancer.

Gabriele is currently a PhD candidate in Translational Medicine at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa. He is a member of the research group led by Dr. Chiara Maria Mazzanti, where his research focuses on the study, characterization, and optimization of culture conditions of circulating tumor cells isolated from patients with glioblastoma and osteosarcoma. These cells are obtained through size- and deformability-based microfluidic separation, under the scientific supervision of Dr. Francesca Lessi.