Ugo Cavallaro

Dr Cavallaro is a cell biologist and molecular oncologist interested in the biological mechanisms that underlie cancer development.

With his research group he discovered a novel interaction between the adhesion molecule NCAM and the receptor tyrosine kinase FGFR, introducing the paradigm that a growth factor receptor can be activated by a non-canonical ligand such as an adhesion molecule (Francavilla et al., J Cell Sci, 2007, and J Cell Biol, 2009).

His group also discovered that the NCAM/FGFR interaction plays a causal role in ovarian cancer, where it also emerged as a potential therapeutic target in preclinical models (Zecchini et al., EMBO Mol Med, 2011).

Another adhesion molecule that is intensively studied in his lab is L1, originally described as a neural adhesion molecule. They reported that L1 is expressed in specific lineages of the hematopoietic compartment, where it regulates immune cell motility and trafficking (Maddaluno et al., J Exp Med, 2009). Furthermore, his group reported that L1 plays a dual, cell context-dependent role in ovarian cancer (Zecchini et al, Cancer Res, 2008).

More recently, his research group became interested in the novel, unexpected role of adhesion molecules in tumor angiogenesis and vascular maturation. These observations led them to propose novel therapeutic target for anti-angiogenic treatments.

He is actively addressing these scientific issues in preclinical models and clinical samples of specific tumor types, such as pancreatic and ovarian carcinoma.

Another area of intense research in his group is the identification and characterisation of ovarian cancer stem cells, namely an elusive subset of transformed cells that is is thought to drive cancer development, dissemination, recurrence and chemoresistance.

Finally, they are actively pursuing the definition of novel ovarian cancer biomarkers and potential targets, combining cutting edge technologies with the use of clinically relevant specimens, taking advantage of a close collaboration with IEO gynecological oncologists