Fabio Marongiu, Italy

Fabio Marongiu is an Associate Professor at the University of Cagliari. In 2003 he graduated with highest honors with an MS in Biological Sciences from University of Cagliari, and in 2007 he obtained his PhD from the same Institute in Chemotherapy of Viral Infections. In 2007 he was granted a fellowship for a 2-year post-doc at the University of Pittsburgh (USA) in the Department of Pathology under the supervision of Prof. Stephen Strom. The main topic of his research was the isolation, culture and characterization of human amnion-derived stem cells and their differentiation into liver cells. He still has an active line of research on the use of placental stem cells in regenerative medicine. In the last decade, his research interest was also focused on the role of tissue microenvironment in the development and progression of cancer, with particular regards to aging, and how to modulate it through dietary interventions. He is also currently conducting a research project in collaboration with Prof. James DeGregori at the University of Colorado (USA) focusing on the role of the microbiota and increased gut permeability in aging and age-related diseases, including cancer. Moreover, he's studying clonal dynamics and mutational landscapes in normal tissue, and the evolutionary trajectories in promoting healthy aging vs cancer.